Marinette, the Robin's daughter!
by RiceBullet
Summary: What if Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Robin's daughter? How would the different Robin's get by as a dad?
1. Chap1: Daddy Dick

**Marinette, the Robin's daughter!**

SPOILER SEASON 2 AND 3.

\- I deliberately chose to exclude Stephanie Brown. I know she used to be Robin, but for me it was a really short time and honestly, I consider her more like Batgirl than Robin. And then sorry... I don't like this character... Like, I really don't like her! I'm really sorry for the people who are fans of her.

\- Marinette will get a miraculous one for sure, but not necessarily the ladybird's one... And her meeting with Fu will vary from one story to another, if she meets him it goes without saying (sorry but I like to bully Master Fu hihi).

\- Marinette will not necessarily be the biological daughter of every Robin...

\- Suggestions are welcome! I would be happy to have ideas and suggestions, if there is a particular theme you want to see or a mini scenario that comes to mind, I would be happy to take note of it ;)

\- Finally, Marinette will have a boyfriend at some point, I'm asking the question now: Who do you want Mari to have a relationship with? (I'm thinking of making a different boyfriend for each character!) You can choose between characters from the Batman universe and characters from Miraculous.

* * *

**Daddy Dick Grayson**

"Okay, everybody, they should be coming out any minute now, so get ready."

Dick felt his muscles tighten all at once. With his gun in hand ready to fire, he stared at the door of the house in front of him. He was hiding less than 500 meters from the criminals' den and had only one desire: to neutralize them as quickly as possible, like the good cop he had become.

The young man had become an officer for the Blüdhaven police. He had been on duty for a year now. His activities as a vigilante had not ceased for all that. However, the former Boy Wonder liked to think that since he had moved to the town, the crime rate had fallen. Certainly, there was still a lot of work to be done. There were a lot of corrupt men to expose. But the challenges had never frightened him.

And most importantly, he felt like he was finally rid of the shadow of Batman. Not that he didn't like his mentor. He owed him a great debt. It was just that... ...his foster father could be a real pain in the ass when he wanted to be!

Tonight, was a little special for him. It was the first time he had been part of such an important operation as an officer and not as Nightwing. He and his colleague Amy Rohrbach had been working on a burglary case for several months now. The peculiarity of these robberies was that the thieves systematically prepared a diversion before each of their operations. This included blowing up a supermarket full of people, driving a car into a crowded area at a rush time, deliberately causing car accidents by suddenly turning off traffic lights and other such craziness.

He would have liked to operate as Nightwing, but two things prevented him from doing so.

The first was that the attacks took place during the day, during his service time. The second problem was that there were several indications that his colleague had doubts about his dual identity. Although the situation was extremely frustrating for him, Dick could not afford to be unmasked. As a result, since Nightwing could not be involved, Officer Grayson had taken over.

The front door opened, and the men began to leave. The command was immediately given.

Unfortunately, the operation didn't really go as planned and one of them managed to escape. Dick and another of his colleagues went after him. The former acrobat had no trouble moving around, jumping easily over the various obstacles in his path. When the thug realized he was about to be caught, the man forced his way into a house. Alas, it was inhabited by a couple. The first thing the fugitive did was to shoot the husband. The poor man hadn't had time to do anything.

Dick found himself in a complicated situation. The man was using the victim's wife as a shield. He held the woman with one arm around her neck while he pointed the gun at him and his colleague. To make matters worse, the poor woman was completely panicked and screamed out her husband's name.

"TOM! TOM!"

The situation was dangerous, someone had to try something and fast!

"All right, big boy, let the lady go, she's got nothing to do with this..."

"Shut up, shithead! You will kindly get out of here and give me a crate to get out of here or I swear this lovely lady is going to join the fucker that was her husband!"

"If it's a hostage you want, then take me instead."

"Grayson, what the hell are you doing?!"

The dark-haired man decided to ignore his colleague. If he could get the man to take him, rather than the woman, as a hostage, then even if the damage had already been done, the worst could still be avoided. Once he was alone with him, the vigilant was confident that he could handle him.

The thug seemed to be thinking about his proposal.

Then something unexpected happened. A small figure appeared behind the hostage taker.

A little girl.

She had black hair and blue eyes. Her hair was down to just above her shoulders. The little cutie seemed to be wearing a T-shirt three times too big for her. The child rubbed her eyes. The noise must have woken her up. By her size, Dick could tell she was under five years old.

Taken by surprise, the man suddenly turned around and pointed his gun at the child. He was about to shoot. At that very moment, the vigilant was about to throw himself at the man, but the girl's mother was faster than him.

Maternal instinct gives wings, apparently...

"NOOOO!"

Everything happened very quickly. The mother threw herself at the man to protect her child and one shot went off. Her body fell heavily to the ground. Then a second shot was heard. This time the fugitive fell to the ground.

Dick's colleague shot the man.

The young adult felt like his ears were ringing. He hadn't taken his eyes off the child.

_Oh God… Please no… _

The little girl's face was splattered with blood. Her little eyes widened as she spoke two simple words. Two words that broke Dick's heart.

"Mama? Dada?"

He gently approached the child and took her in his arms. The little one was shaking but didn't seem to realize what had just happened. Dick quickly left the room, still with the little girl in his arms, he did not want her to see anything more.

His colleagues in turn approached the place. All they could see was the carnage. The mission had been a success, but at what cost?

The little one was immediately taken care of by doctors.

Dick watched the ambulance leave with the child. Then he saw the moment when the bodies were removed from the house. That night had been a disaster. The vigilante felt as if he was no longer on earth.

If only he'd reacted faster...

Now a little girl had lost her parents.

Worse, she had seen her parents' dead body... she had seen her mommy get shot.

The memory of the incident with his parents came back to him immediately.

**He had failed miserably tonight.**

A few days passed after this mission.

He and his colleague had not yet been able to return to duty because an investigation was about to take place. A few days he had not left his home, the image of that little girl haunted him.

The investigation was carried out in a hurry and, without any real surprise, he was able to resume his service as if nothing had happened. As soon as he arrived at the police station, the first thing he did was to ask about the little girl.

The news he received did not please him at all. Apparently, no one in her family wanted to take her in. No one on the mother's side wanted to deal with a "mixed" child. And on the father's side, the grandmother had died, and the grandfather didn't want anything to do with the child. A story about rice flour* that he didn't really understand.

That was when he discovered her name.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

She was only three years old.

And that poor little baby was going to be placed in an orphanage.

He couldn't let that happen! That little girl was alone because of him!

So, without really thinking about what he was doing, he started filling out adoption papers. After having insisted a lot to his boss, he managed to see the child again in less than 48 hours. The head of the orphanage where the little girl was staying was a friend of his superior. So the woman decided to close her eyes to the protocol and agreed to let him take care of the child. He even thought he could hear relief in the woman's voice.

The young vigilant found himself in the waiting room of an institution, which looked more like a prison. He didn't really know what to do or say when the child showed up.

To his great surprise, when the girl saw him, she immediately threw herself on him and immediately began to cry.

Dick took the little girl's things, thanked the director, and went home without a glance back. It was only when he was alone with the child in his apartment that his brain started to work again.

_Oh my gosh... I adopted a kid!_

* * *

*Season 3, episode 3 : Bakerix.


	2. Chap 2: Daddy Jay

"Her name is Marinette-Catherine Todd. From now on, she's your problem. I've given enough of myself."

Rose Wilson, bastard daughter of Slade Wilson. A strong, meta-human woman with inhuman abilities. Definitely a person avoided, when you want to have a quiet life.

And yet this woman was one of Jason's exes.

She was the only person who stayed with him after Roy and Kori left him.

For a while, they had _fun_ together, and then they went their separate ways.

Jason should have seriously seen this coming.

He couldn't have a quiet life like everyone else... No, he wasn't like everyone else, he was a zombie!

Jason didn't specifically have any plans for the next few years. The only thing he was doing right now was surviving. He was purging the world of the vermin that inhabited it but had no real purpose.

The only thing he was sure of was that he wanted to stay as far away from Gotham, from Batman, as possible. Everything that tied him to the past...

**A baby was definitely not part of his plans.**

Especially considering that the baby in question had the most dangerous mercenary in the world as her maternal grandfather.

"Rose... Do you seriously think you can just walk in here with this brat and tell me that I'm the father, so I'll believe you?"

"I don't really care if you believe me or not, Jason. I'm just telling you she's your daughter and I can't handle her. If you don't want her, then just get rid of her."

Jason quickly lost his patience and started arguing with Rose.

Their screams woke the baby, who started to cry. Rose took the opportunity to -literally- throw the baby at him. Jason grabbed the little one in extremis.

"Are you a fucking nut?! You could have killed her!"

Rose was content with a grin as an answer.

It was at that moment that the little one opened her eyes and looked at him. She immediately stopped crying. Seeing him, the little girl smiled and began to laugh.

She had blue eyes.

When he looked up again, the baby's mother had already run away.

Jason had a sudden urge to leave the baby on the floor and run away.

He could feel panic overwhelming him.

"Okay... let's analyze the situation. I apparently had a baby with a mercenary's daughter, who just abandoned the brat with me because she doesn't want to take care of her... Fuck, what now? What the hell am I going to do with that baby?!"

Jason decided it was safer to leave the baby on the couch for a while. Then he started walking around in his living room in circles.

The baby started sucking her thumb. Obviously, the little brat was unaware of the conflict of the adult in the room. Or rather the young man... Goddamn it... He was barely 19 years old!

He wasn't **ready **to be a father!

He wasn't **cut out** to be a father!

He didn't even **know what it was** to be a father!

Holy crap...

Damn it...

Shit...

If that baby stayed with him... She was going to die!

What if... He left her in a hospital and said he found her?

Yes... It clearly seemed like a good idea!

His eyes turned back to the baby. She was sucking her thumb. When the baby realized that Jason was looking at her, she immediately started laughing.

_Oh, my God._

He couldn't do that...

He couldn't just abandon that kid like she was trash...

It was his daughter... his blood... his responsibility...

It wasn't that baby's fault... that little girl didn't ask for anything...

Jason then remembered his birth mother.

If he abandoned that little girl now...

He'd be no better than Sheila.

He wouldn't be better than Willis.

He'd be no better than Bruce.

_Rose said her name was Marinette-Catherine huh..._

Catherine. Like the name of the woman who raised him.

He approached the couch again. The little girl immediately reached out her little arms to him while laughing.

Jason took her in his arms.

"Hi, _pixie pop_... I'm Jason. And... from today I'm gonna be your dad..."

She started babbling. She was still far too young to talk.

Jason sighed.

It was time for action.

The former Robin contacted the only person who could help him at that moment: Dr. Leslie.

-XxxX-

"Well, she's healthy. I'd say she's about five or six months old. Here's a complete list of everything you'll need to take care of her properly. As far as the paternity test is concerned, the results should be back in a few days. I'll contact you then."

"Thank you, Leslie."

"What are you gonna do about her birth certificate? That little girl needs an I.D..."

"I don't know. Jason Todd's supposed to be dead... I can't give her Rose last name either, I don't want his psycho grandfather on my back."

"Mmmm..."

"I... I'll wait for the test results first. For the rest... we'll see later."

"It's up to you, my boy. But... you'll have to decide. If this little girl is your daughter, what are you going to do? If she isn't, what are you going to do?"

Jason didn't answer any questions.

He honestly didn't know what he would do when the time came.

The first thing Jason did was move out. The last thing he needed was for him to be spotted by a member of the bat-family. Bruce would rip that baby from him and lock him up at Arkham.

This baby had only been with him for 48 hours... But if Batman or one of his other soldiers approached him and took the child from him... ...he'll kill them.

** Without a second thought. **

He couldn't leave the country with Marinette; she was still too young.

Gotham wasn't an option.

Blüdhaven was Dick's territory. He had no desire to cross his path. And then... This city was no better than Gotham.

Star City? He had no intention of running into Green Arrow.

Metropolis? Maybe... After all, Batman didn't go there that often. It was Superman's territory. The guy didn't use a surveillance system. What were the chances for the Man of Steel would find him?

It wasn't easy, but he managed to make it to Metropolis. . . He purposely chose an area away from the center of the city.

He ordered everything on Leslie's list online. The rest of his time was spent watching videos on YouTube and searching for information on the internet. The dark-haired man still had to make sure Marinette stayed alive...

Little by little, he began to take his marks in his new role.

Jason was lucky, because the little girl was a little angel.

She hardly ever cried, laughed all the time...

Finally, after a few days, Leslie contacted him just to confirm what he already knew.

Marinette-Catherine aka _Pixie Pop_ was his biological daughter.


	3. Chap 3: Daddy Tim

\- Suggestions are welcome! I would be happy to have ideas and suggestions, if there is a particular theme you want to see or a mini scenario that comes to mind, I would be happy to take note of it ;)

\- Finally, Marinette will have a boyfriend at some point, I'm asking the question now: Who do you want Mari to have a relationship with? (I'm thinking of making a different boyfriend for each character!) You can choose between characters from the Batman universe and characters from Miraculous.

* * *

Tim was sitting quietly at his desk at WE. He was carefully considering an offer of a potential partner. The meeting would take place in just a few minutes. Also, the young CEO wanted to make sure he had all the elements in mind before making a decision.

"Mr. Wayne, the meeting is about to begin."

"I'm on my way."

The young man then placed the folder on his desk and turned to the little pink desk next to his.

"You're coming Mari, it's time."

"Coming, Papa!"

He watched his daughter put her pencil on the table and get up from her little office chair. She then took his hand and followed him to the meeting room.

His daughter...

It was strange to think he was a father. Now he was there, with this adorable little girl by his side.

And to think that just a few months ago, the very idea of having a child had never crossed his mind...

Yet, right away, seeing how Marinette was listening attentively to everything that was going on, with that absolutely adorable little serious face...

** _He couldn't imagine his life without her._ **

**SIX MONTHS AGO**

One evening, the skies of Gotham were covered by black cloud. Lightning began to fall all over the city.

An alarm sounded in the mansion. Something had penetrated the Manor's defense.

Bruce, dressed in his Batman uniform, rushed outside. He was closely followed by Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin and Robin. At that time, everyone was gathered in the Bat-Cave because there was a case that required everyone's cooperation. As Red Hood had more or less made peace with Batman, he was also present at the meeting.

When they arrived in the garden, they noticed that there was a crater. In the middle of it, there was a kind of half-destroyed metal sphere.

The five vigilantes approached the object cautiously.

The sky that had suddenly darkened became normal again. The lightning disappeared.

Amid the rubble, they were surprised to find... **A little girl!**

She was a child. She was obviously much younger than Damian. Her hair was black and reached her shoulder. She had white skin. Her clothes were torn from all sides. The little girl had multiple cuts. She was bleeding profusely from the head.

What was that kid doing in that machine? The last thing they needed was to have an alien baby on their hands when they had enough problems of their own to deal with...

The little girl was treated in the cave under close surveillance. She had a concussion, several broken sides... Hematomas all over the body. Given her condition, Bruce preferred to call Dr. Leslie.

According to Leslie, the girl was generally healthy. Her injuries were probably due to the impact of the spaceship on the ground.

Bruce took the opportunity to analyze the girl's blood. He wanted to see if she was human or extraterrestrial, see if she didn't already have relatives on earth...

Several hours later, once the child stabilized, the blood results fell.

Tim thought his jaw was going to come off.

According to the results, the girl was not completely human. It was a small hybrid, but the computer could not identify her second species.

As for the girl's family...

The computer was formal.

Father: Timothy Drake.

Mother: Unknown.

All eyes turned to Tim.

"I-It's impossible! There must be a mistake!"

"No. I've done the test 10 times. The result is always the same."

"Bruce, it's impossible, I didn't...I didn't... Damn, I had no relationship with... Even less have a... A... It's IM-PO-SSI-BLE!"

The young man chooses to leave the cave. He had to put as much distance as possible between himself and this... _brat._

That was impossible.

That kid couldn't have his blood running through her veins.

He refused to accept this result.

The days fell apart and the girl's condition eventually improved.

She finally awoke.

One morning he had the unpleasant surprise of finding the brat in the kitchen with Alfred. She sat on Jason's lap and ate pancakes as if it were the best food in the universe. She was dressed in a little black dress with little white socks. Her hair was now tied in two small pigtails.

On the other side of the table, Tim realized that Damian was looking at the girl as if it were the plague himself. Obviously, he was not enchanted by the presence of this little girl. Dick was there, too. He was sitting next to Jason. And to Tim's surprise, Jason was helping the brat eat.

"Slowly Mari, don't choke on eating too fast."

"'Kay"

Then the kid spotted him. She looked at him curiously.

"Good morning sir."

The men in the table turned to the entrance to the kitchen.

Suddenly the atmosphere became heavier.

The little girl didn't seem to have realized it. She continued to drink her chocolate as if nothing had happened.

Tim sat down at the table with a hesitant step. Several questions jostled in his mind.

The rest of the meal was in heavy silence.

As soon as the child finished her meal, Jason took her in his arms and left the table with her. Damian followed soon after, leaving Dick and Tim alone with Alfred.

Dick then turned to him.

"Tim... There's something you need to see... There's Bruce waiting for you in the basement."

"Mmm."

"Otherwise... The little one, her name is Marinette. She comes from another dimension."

Tim looked at Dick for a moment. Alfred served him his coffee. He's going to score a few sips.

"Then does it mean that we have to find a way to bring her home?"

"Not exactly... it's a little more complicated than that. The dimension she came from is too dangerous. Sending her back home would be like sending her to death."

The young man then frowned.

"The best thing is that you listen to the recording."

So, Tim found himself going to the Bat-Cave.

As soon as he arrived, Bruce wasted no time and made him listen to a recording he had found in the little girl's little ship. There was a lot of inscription in _Kryptonian_ and several other files that the Dark Knight had not been able to decrypt.

The file he had been able to extract was in very poor condition, several parts of the message had been damaged and was therefore unreadable.

_"[KSHHHHHH] I... Unfortunately, was contaminated too."  
_

Tim immediately recognized the voice on the recording.

**It was the voice of his best friend Kon.**

_"I only have a few hours to live. If you're hearing this message, then I'm already dead. About [KSHHHHHHHHHHH] ago, a meteorite fell to earth. There was a [KSHHHHHHHH] in the meteorite. That creature is invulnerable to our powers, invulnerable to magic. Worst of all, that thing has an insatiable hunger and can reproduce itself. It is a kind of parasite, once it is in a host, it devours the person inside and takes control of the body [KSHHHHHHHHHHH]. **There is no cure**. Little by little, the whole earth was invaded by this parasite. One by one our friends were eaten. [KSHHHHHHHHHH...] Only a handful of people remain on earth... [KSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...]"_

The sizzle was much more intense for almost a whole minute, then...

_"[KSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH] Her name is Marinette. She was born on May 15 [KSHHHHHH]... 3 years old... She is the daughter of the hero Oracle and [KSHHHHHHHHHHHH]. Unfortunately, her parents died a few days after her birth. It was me and Knight who raised her until now, but... [KSSHHHHHHHHHHHH...] too dangerous... Jason has been infected. And soon I too... [KSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH] Please, if you find her... Please take good care of her... [KSHHHHHHHHHHHH]" _

The recording ended.

Several questions jostled in his mind. Why was this little girl on a _Kryptonian ship_? Why was Kon speaking on that recording? Who was really that girl?

Bruce spoke again immediately.

"In the world from which this little girl comes, "Oracle" is you."

Tim wasn't listening. His body was present in the room, but his mind was clearly elsewhere.

Tim honestly didn't know what to think. He was truly lost. Nevertheless, he understood better why Dick had told him that sending the little girl "home" would be like the death row. The dark-haired also understood why it was Jason who was taking care of her. There was every indication that the girl did not know the other family members.

So, Jason was her only landmark.

The young man felt sympathy for this little Marinette, but on the other hand... Knowing that she was his daughter, at least that of an "other him" from another dimension, left him with the bad impression of having to deal with someone else's problem.

At least if she didn't know he was "her father", it also meant that he could easily entrust it to someone else...

"Tim, I know that... It's news that caught everyone off guard. But... since that little girl is supposed to be your daughter. What do you want to do with her?"

Tim looked at his mentor for a moment, reconnecting with reality.

What he wanted to do?

Right now, the only thing he wanted to do was get rid of her!

God, he was barely 20. He had on his shoulders a team of superheroes, his work at WE, his life of vigilante... Tim definitely didn't have time to take care of this little girl. He barely knew how to take care of himself... So, caring for a toddler...

Not to mention the fact that his life was far too dangerous to add a child to the equation. Not to mention the scandal it will cause...

"I... thinks the best thing is to put her up for adoption."

Batman doesn't say anything for a while. Then finally nods.

Bruce set out to find the perfect family that could provide the girl with the best possible care. In the meantime, she was in the mansion. It was Alfred who cared for her the most.

She was apparently a very wise and obedient little girl.

Jason having other things to do, eventually left.

Dick with duties at Blüdhaven eventually left, too.

And Damian, although he also lived in the manor, ignored her royally.

As for him... he tried not to think about it. So, he avoided the manor very carefully.

Time passed.

It had been two months since Marinette had arrived in their lives... The little girl had gotten used to her new environment.

Tim began to hear some strange things about her. According to Dick, the girl was "a little monster". Barbara had nicknamed her the "little devil." Stephanie was afraid of the girl, saying that she was "worse than Damian". Only Cassandra had told him that the child was "cute" and "absolutely adorable". The others looked at Cass as if she had suddenly gone completely crazy.

He also learned that Bruce was on the verge of a nervous breakdown with the little girl... This made him particularly curious.

One day, having a very important meeting the next, Tim had no choice but to stay at the manor.

While he was working on his computer, he heard his bedroom door open. The child had just come into his room. She didn't seem to notice. The baby girl was looking left and right. Then when she saw him, her little eyes widened slightly, and she smiled. The kid put her little finger over her mouth. At that moment Tim noticed that she had blue and red paint stains on her little dress.

"Shhh!"

Tim raised an eyebrow.

Marinette ends up going into _his closet_ and closes the door behind her.

Ok.

After a brief hesitation, Tim turned back to his computer again. No sooner had he picked up where he left off than the door to his room opened a second time. This time it was Bruce.

"Tim, have you seen Marinette? She and Damian had a fight this morning, she's been missing ever since."

"Oh, yeah? What was the fight about?"

Bruce sighed, visibly annoyed.

"Damian broke some of Marinette's toys. So, to get revenge, she painted Titus' fur in red, Alfred the Cat's fur in blue, Bat-cow turned green, Goliath became pink, the whole with indelible paint."

_Oh my God!_

Was it wrong to feel proud of the kid? It was wrong, wasn't it? Yet, at that moment the only thing he wanted to do was open the closet door and give that child a huge hug! For once Damian was getting a taste of his own shit...

"I see... I didn't see her. I haven't come out of my room yet today."

Bruce sighed again and left the room.

As soon as Bruce came out, Marinette put her little head outside the closet.

Their eyes met.

Marinette smiled at him. He smiled back at her.

The little one passed the rest of the morning hidden in the room with Tim. She watched him work wisely, never disturbing him.

That day marked a turning point in their relationship. Tim decided that he wanted to at least get to know the child a little better, since until then he had avoided her like the plague.

He was not disappointed.

**Marinette was a little pest.**

This little girl was cunning as a fox, extremely intelligent and quick-witted. Her favorite activity was playing tricks on everyone.

**Everyone except him.**

She had fun painting all the Bat-mobiles with Hello Kitty designs. Some Bat-mobiles even had fake eyelashes with what looked like lipstick.

"Look at old man! Now you have _kitty-mobiles_!"

Tim had never laughed so hard in his life when he saw Bruce's frightened face.

She sabotaged the alarm of the Bat-cave, which now made a duck call whenever there was an alarm... Of course, he couldn't laugh in front of Bruce, but once he was alone, he let loose a good laugh.

Dick found himself one day with pink hair because Marinette had put dye in his shampoo...

She changed Bruce's alarm once. He was awakened by the song "Hakuna Matata". How Marinette had managed to gain access to his mentor's mobile phone remained a real mystery...

As if it had become a ritual, Marinette would always hide in Tim's room.

She was _hellish._

**And Tim loved it.**

The young man soon realized that Marinette's behavior was not for free. There was always a reason why she had been "naughty". The first reason was often revenge. Damian was very mean to her, picking on her toys, talking badly to her... And Bruce never did anything to calm the situation down. The second reason was to get attention. Tim soon realized that she just wanted somebody to care for her, but nobody seemed to be willing to give her the time...

Like him…

The young CEO remembered his childhood. Unlike Marinette, he didn't do foolish things. Quite the opposite, he always did everything to erase himself as much as possible. He was supposed to be a model child.

Marinette was a little girl who suffered from loneliness. In a world she didn't know, surrounded by strangers... She was just a scared child who wanted to be reassured, but no one wanted to do it.

Tim thought he might regret the idea later... but one day he made a test. He took Marinette with him to a meeting. Everybody had found an excuse not to have to keep her... He found himself with her on his hands, a little despite himself.

Being Timothy Wayne, no one dared ask him a single question. However, he knew very well that everyone was curious about the girl. She remained very wise all along and listened attentively to the meeting. In the end, when they were alone again in the office, she turned to him.

"You must fire that man."

Tim looked at her, frowning.

"Why should I?"

"He didn't understand the business world. Besides, he wants to make hazardous investments during a recession, with a partner who is more than dubious. That's stupid. Besides, I've looked at his performance, it's a disaster. He's making a mess! His division's data are wrong, I wouldn't be surprised if he embezzled some of the funds."

Tim was genuinely impressed. He had, of course, already spotted the irregularities. But most of all... it was a three-year-old girl he was looking at.

**Just a three-years-old girl.**

That baby child was his blood daughter.

If Marinette was able to do this kind of analysis at such a young age, what will it look like when she grows up?

He could teach her a lot of things...

Tim made up his mind. It didn't matter if it wasn't his kid on _that timeline_. It was still his daughter...

**He was going to take responsibility for this.**

After all, it wasn't the first time he'd found himself dealing with problems that weren't his own.


	4. Chap 4: Daddy Damian

[Past Damian x Raven]  
I'm sorry for the wait, but I had too much script in my mind for this story... I had a hard time making up my mind ^^"

My reference will be especially the films "Justice league Vs Teen Titan" and "Teen Titans, The Juda contract". But I'm also going to mix some elements from the comics.

Inspiration :  
\- The movie « Despicable me »  
\- The movie "The Game Plan"

* * *

**Chapter 4: Congratulations, you're a dad! (Damian)**

Damian was a young man with everything he needed to succeed in life.

He came from a noble lineage.

He was the son of two powerful warriors, Batman and the daughter of Ra's Al Ghul.

He was a seasoned fighter.

He had access to the best teachers, went to the best schools...

He was an elite kid.

He had a clear destiny.

Well, all of that was **before**, or rather, what his life **should have been**.

At the time, he was 16 years old.

A lot of bad shit was going down at that point in his life.

First of all, his longtime girlfriend, Rachel Roth had broken up with him. She hadn't even given him a decent explanation. The teenager felt genuinely devastated. He truly loved Rachel. She was an extraordinary person.

The only one worthy for him.

And then it all happened very quickly.

His older brother Dick lost his memory and didn't want anything to do with him anymore.

Drake had stolen his inheritance. He was now the heir to Wayne's company.

Cain had his father's undivided attention... She was always treated with great tenderness. Her story was a sad one, she had suffered. . . Everybody loved her. This girl had no blood ties to his father, and yet you'd think the legitimate child was her.

And since we were talking about his father...

His relationship with him was increasingly strained. He was tired of always being treated like the last wheel of the carriage. He was tired of being the one we always distrusted.

He was the aggressive Robin. The one who was too cold, too serious, too unmanageable.

The one with a bad heart.

If you had to describe him in one word, the first that would come to anyone's mind would be: mistake.

He was the unwanted child.

If Todd was Batman's biggest failure, then he was the biggest mischief.

He felt like an outsider in his own family...

The teenager felt terribly alone...

Damian had tried.

He had tried to change to fit the image his father wanted.

But sometimes, some things were too broken to fit again.

So one day, while working with his father on a serial killer case, he found himself alone with the murderer.

The young Robin had easily managed to catch the murderer.

The scum tried to attack him in vain. He dodged his blows without the slightest difficulty.

The only problem was that during the assault, the guy managed to take his sword from him.

Damian thought he was genuinely pathetic.

"I'm not going to jail!"

However, instead of attacking him with the sword, as the teenager thought he would do. he turned the weapon on himself.

The young Robin looked at the body now at his feet with... a certain detachment, it had to be said. He drew his sword and looked at it in disgust.

_Tt, and to think I had just cleaned it._

Alas for him, Batman arrived after the man's suicide... Seeing that the murderer was dead and Damian had his sword in his hand...

He quickly drew conclusions.

And of course, those conclusions were certainly not in Robin's favor.

Damian was blamed.

He tried to tell his side of the story, but his father didn't want to hear it. As soon as they arrived at the Manor, his father told him that he would no longer be Robin.

He was fired, like a piece of shit.

It wasn't fair.

HE'D DONE NOTHING!

That night, Damian left the Manor. It was raining outside, but the boy didn't care.

Deep down, it was as if Gotham was expressing the feelings he had in his heart.

The teenager felt betrayed.

He was walking alone in the night, with no real purpose. He was in the process of questioning his entire life.

What if... he never knew his father... would rejection hurt less?

Why did he try so hard to change?

Why didn't anyone ever believe him?

Why didn't Batman love him as much as everyone else in this family?

For a moment, Damian wondered if that's how Todd felt. After all, he, too, was rejected by Batman...

And maybe that was the reason Rachel had left him too... Because he wasn't who she wanted him to be.

**Damian chose to isolate himself. **

To go where no one would come looking for him.

**Six years later.**

"Good morning, _father_! My name is Marinette. You remember my mother, Raven?"

Damian had been prepared for many things in his life. Still, seeing a kid show up at his door claiming to be his daughter was clearly not part of his training when he was an assassin.

She was wearing a black hooded vest, which was open. The girl had a little blue dress, with high socks, with a cat's head on it. She also had a little raven-shaped backpack. He also noticed that she had mittens.

What struck Damian was her appearance. She had short black hair, and her eyes were blue.

A shiver ran through his whole body.

**He knew that look. **

But it was impossible.

Him? Having a daughter with Rachel?

**Big joke. **

"I'm sorry, brat, but I think you have the wrong address."

He closed the door. However, the girl _walked through_ the door... like some kind of ghost.

"HEY! THAT'S RUDE!"

Damian blinked several times, then frowned, clearly irritated.

"Look brat, you don't just walk into someone's house uninvited."

"I can prove it!"

He raised an eyebrow.

The little girl took a paper out of her little bag.

It was a birth certificate.

Where did this girl find such a document?

He took the paper.

Mother: Rachel Roth

Father: Damian Wayne

Date of Birth: February 29, XXXX

Place of Birth: Paris

Damian felt a lump forming in his stomach.

If this certificate was true, and the date on it was correct... Then Rachel would have had this kid exactly 8 months after they broke up.

Is that what it was?

She left him because she was pregnant?!

Why the hell didn't she tell him?!

"Are you okay, father?"

His eyes turned back to the kid. She was obviously looking at him worried.

**F*ck.**


	5. Chap 5: Daddy Dick

When you see "..." in a dialogue, it means that the character speaks a language other than English. In this chapter, it's French.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Dad: instruction manual (Dick)**

Dick soon realized that having a child wasn't like having a kitten or a little puppy...

He had adopted Marinette on a whim, without really thinking about what it meant for him and for her.

The young man found himself doing emergency shopping! First of all, he had to rearrange the interior of his apartment so that the little girl could have a place to sleep. Especially a bed. Because at the moment she was sleeping in his bed and he had the couch, which wasn't practical at all...

Dick's good fortune was that he was very much appreciated by his colleagues, and that his actions had earned the admiration and respect of his co-workers. Also, to help him in his new role as a "father", many of his workmates who had children had given him children's clothing and a variety of toys.

His apartment soon became overrun with toys.

Then came Amy, who gave him a complete file of everything he needed to know about parenting... Dick was allowed to have his schedule adjusted since he was a "single dad" and Marinette was still in her early years.

— Amy, I'm not sure all this is really necessary...

— Grayson, I'm not sure you really realize how much time a child needs... Especially a little girl like Marinette who's just been through a huge trauma. Trust me, you'll thank me later.

Later, he understood what his partner meant... And indeed, he thanked her.

Dick had to make **radical changes** in his _lifestyle_.

When you leave kids in a room alone, they start _poking around_. Especially if the room in question wasn't tidy. Dick felt like he had a heart attack when he realized that Marinette was playing with his _Eskrima sticks_ and his _Nightwing's mask_.

He'd forgotten to put them away the night before...

— Look Dick, I'm Zorro!

— Yes, Mari... You're very cute...

— Hihihi!

— Why don't you leave your... disguise on to wash your hands, we're about to eat.

— Oki!

He didn't have the heart to scold her. Mostly because it was his job to look after his stuff. Luckily, Marinette was still too small to know what the objects she had found meant... Damn, she could have hurt herself very badly!

Thus, Dick was forced to add _housework_ to his schedule in spite of himself.

A child couldn't be fed exclusively on _cereal_, either...

When he was alone, he could miss one or two meals, eat cereal morning, noon and night without any problem. Dick was well aware that it wasn't especially healthy. However, this diet suited him very well. Alas, he certainly couldn't do the same with Marinette... The young vigilant young man had to make up his mind to drastically revise his diet. Fortunately, Marinette was not difficult.

Kids were energetic, they demanded attention, patience...

Marinette wasn't completely independent. She still needed help getting dressed and brushing her teeth properly. She wasn't very good at using cutlery.

Plus, she was a little girl... which means _she had to be combed_.

Dick had no idea how to comb a little girl! He found himself looking on the internet to find out "how to comb a little girl's hair". The young man chose the simplest hairdo: a ponytail.

**YouTube tutos became his best friends...**

The young vigilant also had to completely revise his French. Marinette still understood very few English words; she spoke mostly French. He therefore found himself giving her little English lessons, in the form of games.

She loved games that revolved around animals... Especially if it meant she could put head clamps with animal ears on him...

He now knew almost every children's song on the planet... (And he was getting seriously fed up with that damn "Baby Shark" song). He also knew all the adventures of Dora the Explorer (Dick hate that one), Mickey Mouse, Little Brown Bear, FiFi and the Flowertots...

And he was rediscovering the Disney's. He hadn't seen them in a while.

That being said, Disney also meant princess outfits. Now, Marinette also had an entire wardrobe dedicated to her costumes... Although for one reason or another, Marinette had a preference for _Brother Bear_. And the songs that went with it...

All this took him a long time, as a result of which his activity as a vigilant was drastically reduced. Even more so as the little Marinette found it difficult to fall asleep at night. She often woke up in tears because she had had a nightmare.

— Dick... Mari wants Mama and Dada...

— I know, sunflower...Your Mama and Dada will always be warm in your heart.

— Why did the bad man hurt Mama and Dada?

— I don't know sunflower, some people are... just... bad.

— ...

— I lost my parents when I was little too... I was a little taller than you. I was eight when they died... I was part of a trapeze troupe in a circus. There was my daddy, my mommy and me. We were the _Flying Grayson_.

— _Flying Grayson_... It's pretty.

— Thank you, _Sunshine_. I also think it's pretty...

— What happened next?

— Well, one night at a performance, the trapeze broke off while my parents were making their move and...

— They went to heaven... like mama and dada...

— Yeah... they've gone to heaven...

At times like these, Dick could spend long hours consoling her. He, too, had nightmares when his parents died. He didn't want her to feel alone.

Then one day, when he decided to take Marinette with him to run some errands. Something... strange happened for Dick.

There was a lady with a dog, it's looks were... peculiar. The animal really looked like a floorcloth.

— Look, _Papa_, the dog looks like a broom!

Marinette pointed to the animal, amused. However, it wasn't this action that left Dick completely frozen on the spot.

— You... W-What?

— The dog! Papa, look!

— You're...

Marinette looked at him strangely. Then she gave him a beautiful smile.

— Can Mari get candy?

— Uh...

— Say yes!

Dick was completely disturbed by this event.

After that day, Marinette never called him "Dick" again, only " Papa ". He had no choice other than to accept this new "status". Indeed, it was very difficult for him to tell the little one not to call him "Daddy". After all, technically he was her "father".

After a while, the word even became natural.

— Papa?

— Yes?

— Can we watch _Brother Bear_?

— Sunshine... We've already seen this movie 20 times...

— Pleeeaaassee!

He always gave in eventually.

In his defense, she was really too **_adorable_**_..._

_**Five months later.**_

Time passed again. Dick was going out less and less as Nightwing. It had to be said that he had a little girl who easily took up 80% of his time.

He should have known that his radio silence would eventually worry someone...

So one night, Dick left Marinette in the living room to go to the bathroom. When he came back, the young man heard another voice that was not his little nightingale's voice.

— Papa's in the bathroom.

— Marinette, who are you talking to?

— Hi Dick... I see you finished _relieving yourself_.

— Br-...hmm... **Batman.**

— The _monsieur_ came in through the window!

Dick made a mental note to beef up his security system. He didn't want anyone to be able to get into his apartment when he had a child with him.

Then Dick wondered how he was going to explain to Marinette why there was _Batman_ in their living room...

The Dark Knight looked at the girl for a long time, then turned his gaze towards him. He was clearly waiting for an explanation.

_Oh, my God._

With all this history, Dick had completely forgotten one _important detail_.

**He hadn't told anyone in his family that he had adopted Marinette. **


	6. Chap 6: Daddy Jay

**Chapter 2: Dad: instruction manual (Jason)**

It's been two months since the evil Red Hood became a father.

Jason had now become an expert in the art and craft of caring for a baby.

First, he had to learn the steps to feeding it.

_Sterilize the bottle._

_Preparing the baby's milk._

_Check the temperature of the milk._

_Feed the baby._

_Burp her._

_Put her to sleep._

And, damn it... Who knew a baby could eat so much! Marinette was eating twice as much as him. She was so tiny, where did all that milk go?!

And then... The steps to changing her diaper.

_Blocking your nose (very important step)_

_Remove the dirty diaper._

_Clean the baby._

_Put on the new diaper._

_Repeat all steps several times a day._

He still remembered his first attempt, which had lasted a good hour... Never in his life would Jason have thought he would do such a thing... BEURK...

The poor man thought he was going to die a second time, just because of the unbearable smell...

— OMG... What the fuck?! It stinks like hell! UGH... How can milk produce shit like that?!

— Hahahhaa... gagagaga!

— I'm gonna die!

Seriously, who knew a baby could smell so bad?! He even considered using dirty diapers as a _weapon_, the smell was _so intense_!

There was a whole ritual of bathing the baby too...

Check water temperature

Hold the baby securely in one hand so she doesn't drown, then use your other hand to wash her...

A real balancing act!

And... who said bath, also said cleaning the bathroom... Because his little Pixie _loved water_. And a baby who loves water is a baby who _loves_ _to splash her daddy with her bath water_.

Jason also discovered a parallel group that parents with children knew about: "Mommy's Meeting at the Park".

Strange as it may seem, he had become friends with mothers who were walking with their babies in a park near his home. They had become very friendly when he told them that the mother had "died in childbirth" (a huge lie, but a good one).

If one day, he had been told that his favorite subject would be comparing the prices of baby diapers... He even learned special recipes for making his own baby pots...

Now he had a bedtime ritual as well.

Jason had discovered his singing talents... Every night he sang her a little lullaby, until she fell asleep (which could last a long, long, long time...).

He, who was organized, had finally discovered the famous "organized bazaar". His apartment was full of toys, absolutely everywhere!

Then, little by little, he got used to it.

Feeding Marinette was much faster.

He didn't pay attention to the smell at all anymore...

Before, he used to find those parents who had babies who were hard to talk to their kids like idiots with a high-pitched voice. Or why they needed to take pictures of their kid all the time.

**Now he was doing the exact same thing...**

— Who's the prettiest? Hm? Who's the prettiest?

— Hihihi! Gaga... brrumm...

— Is that Pixie Pop? Of course it's _my Pixie_!

So Jason had found a new passion for photography.

His cell phone was filled with photos of Marinette, from every possible angle imaginable. He was happy to put cute little dresses on her, animal pajamas, do her hair, and put T-shirts with funny phrases on them - according to him.

He now had an entire shelf devoted to books on parenting.

Shopping used to take him about 30 minutes or less. Today... He could spend two hours in a shop because he couldn't decide between a rabbit or a doggy blanket for his daughter, between white or pale yellow socks, between a strawberry-scented shampoo and a vanilla-scented shampoo... (in the end he ended up taking it all).

**His fashion style had also changed.**

He had always paid some attention to his appearance. Today, his style consisted of a simple T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

**And that was it.**

Jason would get stared at on the street. After all, he was a handsome young man, tall, strong, muscular, walking around with a stroller... And a huge bag with a teddy bear head (because it was the only one available at the time).

As if it was his fault, if he had to have extra clothes for his Pixie, just in case, two or three bottles of milk in case of little hunger, diapers, toys, tissues, wet wipes, a spare pacifier (in case Marinette decided to beat the record for pacifier throwing...).

Now Jason had become a koala bear! Marinette couldn't walk yet, and he had to do his household chores! But Pixie was far too small to be left alone without supervision. Certainly, the young man could have waited until nap time to do what he saw to do... Alas, his daughter had a very, but then very light sleep. The slightest noise woke her up.

Jason discovered certain existential problems he never thought possible...

Having a baby meant that you had to watch her constantly... And unfortunately, babies didn't have an "off" mode. Even when the dad needed to go to the toilet... Even when the dad needed to take a shower... Even when the dad wanted to eat (and baby wanted to taste his food).

And where was Red Hood in this wonderful program?

**Simple, the vigilante was on paternity leave.**

His daughter took 90% of his life energy. He genuinely had something else on his mind besides chasing psychopaths.

Who knew caring for a seven-month-old baby was more exhausting than chasing criminals? At the end of his day, the only thing Jason wanted was to sleep (when Marinette let him... because the little miss sometimes refused to sleep!).

In those moments, the dark-haired understood quite easily why Rose had given up.

He couldn't help thinking that he had lost his freedom...

Until Marinette starts laughing and reaches out her little arms to him.

**At that moment, his heart melted like snow in the sun. **

**He smiled like an idiot and took her in his arms...**

**Nothing mattered anymore. **

**He wanted to protect that innocent laugh for the rest of his life. **

He was Red Hood!

He'd killed people!

He was supposed to be a murderer, a killer, a troublemaker!

He wasn't supposed to be worshipping a baby!

What kind of witchcraft was this?!

Why did that baby have to be so **_adorable_**?!

** What the hell was wrong with him?! **

And then...

Jason was paranoid.

He couldn't conceive the idea of entrusting Marinette to a stranger. He was too afraid someone was going to take away his little Pixie.

He was afraid that Batman would show up unexpectedly and steal his baby.

Or that Rose might change her mind and come over and take the baby away from him.

Or worse, Slade could show up and decide that he would be the one to raise his granddaughter.

Jason knew that this fateful moment would be his end.

**Because he would fight till the end.**

**No one will take that baby away from him while he's alive.**


	7. Chap 7: Daddy Tim

**Chapter 7: Dad: instruction manual (Tim)**

Bruce was a man of many faces. To the people of Gotham, he was worldly, frivolous and playboyish. To others, he was the best detective in the world. A frigid, stoic, and inspiring respect, or fear, it all depended on which side of the line you were on.

Still, all that great charting seemed completely useless in the face of... this _child_. He wasn't even sure at that point that this... _thing_... could even be considered a child.

Bruce had faced many enemies in his life, but none of them were as bad as Tim's daughter.

Lately, she had decided that her new favorite pastime was making up whatever came into her head. And God knows that child had a twisted mind. If she just did her experiments in her corner, she'd be fine...

But no! She had to test her findings on the others!

And so it was that he, Bruce Wayne had been locked up in the Manor for several days in a row.

The reason?

His granddaughter - what a strange thing to say - had decided she wanted to create an invisibility potion.

How did she manage to get her hands on so much chemical? He himself did not yet have the answer.

The fact was that now his skin was completely yellow.

Because Marinette had poured his experiment into the manor's ventilation system.

Everyone who was in the Manor at that very moment was the victim of this so-called "potion".

Damian now had green skin.

Alfred had purple skin.

Tim had red skin.

And that little devil, Marinette, had blue skin.

Bruce honestly thought of himself as a patient person.

**But this kid was special. **

She did a great job of making him particularly irritable.

After this incident, Bruce yelled at Marinette. Her reaction irritated him more than anything else. She laughed, stuck out her tongue and ran out of the room.

**The child had no respect for anyone. **

Soon after, Tim found a solution to the problem, and everyone was able to return to normal.

Bruce had to have a serious conversation with Tim.

He was much too permissive with this little girl. His third son never reprimanded her. Worst of all, he often laughed when she did something stupid! Her young age was no excuse to let her do anything in the house! Dick's daughter would never have done that kind of foolishness...

This hellish situation had gone on too long!

The Dark Knight could not deny the fact that Marinette had already changed. She was much worse before Tim officially adopted her.

By the way for Bruce it had been a very bad idea.

Tim was without a doubt one of the people in charge he knew. He was a very smart and trustworthy young man. Nevertheless, he was still very young. His third son could barely take care of himself, so taking care of a toddler...

At this point, Bruce said the record was mixed.

Certainly, Marinette had changed a little. Nevertheless, these changes were still too minimal for his taste. She continued to play tricks on everyone in the house. She didn't respect the rules that were imposed on her, well, except those established by Tim.

Even Alfred didn't know how to deal with this child.

Compared to his granddaughter Mar'i, this little Marinette was an apparition from the underworld.

So Bruce had made a decision. He was going to talk to Tim tonight. Obviously, taking care of a little girl wasn't a job for him. Marinette needed discipline above all else. If Tim wasn't capable of imposing it, then he would do it himself.

As he took a determined step towards the Bat-Cave, he heard laughter coming from the kitchen. He knew this high-pitched little laugh, and it didn't bode well. Bruce walked slowly towards the kitchen, hoping to catch the brat in flagrante delicto.

As he got closer, what he saw surprised him.

In the kitchen were Tim and Marinette.

On the counter were several bowls. There was also a large jar of glue, several different colors of food coloring, liquid laundry, small jars filled with glitter...

— Here, now that the glue is in the bowl, we'll add the laundry product. Don't forget, it has to be odorless, otherwise it will smell too strong afterwards.

— 'Kay! Do you have to stir it like that?

— Yes. Slowly... That's very good. Now you have to stir it. Be careful not to splash.

Marinette started to stir the mixture carefully.

— That's good. Now we'll add some color.

— Can we mix it all together? I want to make a rainbow!

Tim smiled.

He let her mix all the colors she wanted. Then she also added glitter to the mix.

The mixture was stirred, this time by hand. Tim did the handling, in front of an excited Marinette.

— Now it's ready. Well, now you know how to make slim...

Marinette took the slim in her hands and started playing with it, under Tim's watchful eye. The slim was indeed like a rainbow with multicolored glitter.

— Next week, I'll show you another experience. But I want you to promise me that you won't play with Bruce's products anymore. Okay?

— Yes, Daddy!

Bruce walked away as quietly as he could. He honestly didn't know what to think of the scene he'd just witnessed.

Time ran out.

True to his promise, every week Tim showed Marinette a new experience. Sometimes he would take her to the museum or to some science fair.

Marinette never touched the lab in the Bat-cave again.

The man had to face the fact that Tim knew how to handle his daughter much better than people thought. Rather than scolding her and forbidding her to go near the cellar, he had chosen to channel Marinette's curious mind by having her do small experiments.

Bruce was even beginning to consider doing the same thing with Damian...

-XxxX-

**Sunday morning.**

Dick had come to Wayne Manor on a special occasion. Bruce had called him on a mission. Although he wasn't thrilled with the idea, he couldn't bring himself to say no to his adopted father.

As he walked through the living room, he spotted Tim with his daughter... Or the _little gremlin_, as everyone in the family liked to call her. They were together flipping through an illustration book, showing all the world's greatest monuments.

Former Robin watched the scene for a little while.

It was strange to think that he was an uncle, and that his little brother now had a daughter. At least... at least someone who looked like a little girl. He, who was also the father of an adorable little girl, was sure he could tell, that this girl was not normal. Even though Tim's daughter had a name similar to his daughter's, he was sure that Mar'i had never done anything like what Tim's gremlin was doing.

He still hadn't forgotten that nasty trick Marinette had played on him. It had taken him almost three bottles of whole shampoo to get rid of the horrible pink color of his hair.

The eldest sibling decided to leave before the little plague spotted him.

**Sunday afternoon. **

Dick had spent his entire morning in the Bat-Cave with Bruce. He'd had a more interesting weekend.

On his way back through the living room, he stopped dead in his tracks.

Right in the middle of the room was now a gigantic Eiffel Tower built with small wooden building blocks for children.

He then realized that Tim was holding Marinette in his arms while she placed a small flag on top of the construction.

— FINISHED!

— That's good work. You see how important it was to make a plan before starting.

— Yep! Next time... Can we do the Chinese wall?

— Yeah, why not. But this time, I want you to draw the plan, with the exact number of pieces, size and so on.

— All right, I'll do it!

Dick then watched them take pictures of their construction.

It was really cute.

At first, he was clearly skeptical when Tim announced that he would adopt Marinette. He knew what it was like to raise a child alone, and he could hardly see Tim taking care of a child. In fact, Timmy was usually the first one to run away when Dick asked for a babysitter...

Now he realized that his fears were not justified.

-XxxX-

Alfred had just finished preparing Miss Marinette's snack.

Since the little one had arrived in the Manor, it was full of life again.

Contrary to what many might think. Alfred had nothing against Marinette. On the contrary, he loved the child very much. Master Bruce probably didn't know this, since when he adopted his current children, they were already all grown up, but it was normal for a child to do silly things.

No doubt, his Master had in mind his other granddaughter, Mar'i, who was extremely wise compared to Marinette. She had inherited her father's temperament. Unfortunately, Dick didn't live in Gotham, so the little girl didn't come to the manor very often. Most importantly, Dick had made one thing very clear... He wanted to raise his daughter in as normal as possible an environment as possible. Besides, Mar'i was already 9 years old... Marinette was only 3 years old.

So, going from an adorable and wise granddaughter to a little daredevil could be confusing.

And that was probably the most important thing: Marinette wasn't Mar'i.

God only knew what this child had experienced in her old world.

Marinette made mistakes, much more elaborate than an ordinary child. However, considering that this girl's father had been able to discover Batman's identity at a very young age, it was not so surprising.

The little girl was simply very smart and extremely curious.

The butler wanted to smile every time he heard the little one' s footsteps in the mansion.

She ran around laughing, forgot her toys everywhere, played hide-and-seek with the animals in the house... Titus in particular loved to play with her. This had made Master Damian jealous. The young Master was not used to sharing attention.

It was true, the little Mistress was cruelly lacking in discipline.

Nevertheless, Master Timothy did an excellent job as a parent.

Besides, Alfred was no fool. Requiring a three-year-old girl to behave like an adult was utterly ridiculous. The truth was that none of the boys who grew up in this house were "disciplined. They had all made monumental mistakes at one time or another in the Manor House.

Including Master Bruce.

No one seemed to realize it, except perhaps Master Timothy, but since Marinette had arrived, the atmosphere in the Manor had softened. Marinette had unintentionally managed to distract everyone in the house.

Alfred began to look for his young Mistress in the Manor.

When he found her in the garden taking a nap in her father's arms under a tree, the butler could only smile.

This was another aspect that had changed in this house. With a child to support, Master Timothy had had to drastically change his way of life. This included his hours of sleep...

From now on, as soon as he could, the young Master took a nap with his daughter almost every afternoon. It was the only solution that the young man found for Marinette to take a nap in complete serenity. The poor little girl tended to have nightmares when she was alone.

Alfred had never for a moment doubted Master Timothy's competence as a parent.

-XxxX-

Today was one of those days when Marinette decided to do as she pleased.

She had taken a Batman mask from the Bat-Cave. She was now wearing a black cape and had decided to be Batman.

That also included mimicking his voice.

Here she is now standing on the kitchen chair, staring at him very seriously. Raising her little arms in the air, she began her act.

— **I am vengeance, I am the night, I AM BATMAN!**

— …

Alfred could barely hide his smile.

Jason, who for some reason was in the manor, was puffing. Damian pretended to be indifferent, but Tim could see the slight tremor in his body that betrayed his desire to laugh.

Bruce was frowning.

The young father wasn't sure how to interpret this reaction.

Tim had a furious desire to laugh, really. The only problem was that he had a very important meeting that morning, and he wasn't sure if "Batman" could go with him.

— _Miss Batman_, here are your pancakes.

— **Thank you, Alfred.**

Jason broke down and burst out laughing.

Tim thought he heard Bruce mumble something like, "I don't talk like that."

Tim couldn't get Marinette to change her clothes. So he took "Batman" with him to the office.

Reactions were varied. Everyone laughed more or less openly at Marinette's behavior.

But almost all of them were unanimous on one point.

Marinette was absolutely adorable as _Batman_.

At the end of the meeting, he was questioned by their client.

— I must confess, Mr. Wayne, I was very skeptical about working with you. It's nothing against you. It's just that we're a company with family values first and foremost. Given your age... I was afraid you wouldn't take that into account. But after seeing you today with your little girl, I have no doubt. It will be an honor to work with you.

— Thank you, sir.

Tim learned at the same time, that his client was also a father and that his youngest daughter was barely older than Marinette.

He finally turned back to his little girl.

— Come Mari- Excuse me, _Batman_, it's time to eat.

— **I'm coming, Daddy.**

— Any preference today?

Tim grabs his phone. He didn't have time to go to the restaurant, he still had too much to deal with. So, as was often the case, he would eat in his office with "Batnette".

— **Chinese!**

Poor Tim had to restrain himself so as not to burst out laughing in his office.

He had an image to hold.

* * *

A/N: I especially love this chapter. I wrote it based on my personal experience.  
I was a horrible child! xD  
I was fooling around with foolishness to the point of driving my poor parents crazy ^^"  
Not all children are little angels. :D


	8. Chap 8: Daddy Damian

A/N : I apologize for this long absence, I had a lot of homework to do in a very short period of time...

* * *

**Chapter 8: Dad: instruction manual (Damian)**

A/N : I apologize for this long absence, I had a lot of homework to do in a very short period of time...

* * *

Thomas John Splinter formerly Damian Wayne was a special man. He lived in Greece and owned one of the largest animal rehabilitation centers in Europe. Both domestic and wild animals. He was a qualified veterinarian, and he took good care of all his patients with zeal.

He was a man who was proud of his work. Thomas was proud to be able to help so many animals in need. He had no less than thirty people at his service.

He was proud because he had built this center with the sweat of his brow. Without outside help, by his own efforts.

Thomas had built himself an identity, a dream, a kingdom.

This change of environment had also produced a change in his attitude. To get to where he was, Thomas had had to learn to live "like ordinary people". He, who was born with a golden spoon in his mouth, had to learn to feed himself with a wooden spoon. He had suffered many humiliations, many moments of doubt. He had also known hunger, ungrateful little jobs, deprivation.

His temper had changed. He was much more mature than before. This experience had made him grow up. He was a less arrogant man than he had been in the past. He had learned to do everything on his own. He was much calmer, more thoughtful, more responsible. He had learned to respect the people around him.

He wasn't a very outgoing person. On the contrary, he was very introverted. Many people thought he was a shy person. A man of few words. A not very expressive person, who seemed cold to the first person on board, but who hid a heart of gold. A man who was passionate by his work.

**This man was having a huge existential crisis.  
**

He, Thomas John Splinter, had just discovered he had a daughter. A daughter who had been born from his union with the only woman he had ever loved in his life.

A woman who **_broke_ **his heart.

Who **_had kept_** the existence of their daughter from him.

Who **_abandoned_** their daughter to strangers.

Was this what was called **_karma_**?

Thomas... No, Damian...

Because at that moment he was Damian, and not "Splinter", the identity he had built himself.

So Damian was in his kitchen, preparing breakfast for two. Marinette, his daughter - damn it... it made him feel so weird - was setting the table.

It had been a little over a week since the little girl came into his life.

**This child was the quietest person in the world.  
**

She was extremely quiet. Talked very little, never complained about anything. She obeyed him hand and foot. On that side, he had nothing to complain about.

Marinette had followed him to work (he couldn't leave her alone in his house). She had remained very wise, didn't touch anything, was extremely polite and courteous with everyone.

**Damian had nothing to reproach her for.  
**

**That was the problem.  
**

Damian was as sociable as a road sign, as talkative as a grave and as warm as an icebox...

This meant that both of them always did everything in silence. They hardly ever spoke to each other... except to say "good morning" in the morning and "good night" before going to bed. After eating, she always thanked him for the meal.

It had been going on for a week.  


Damian didn't know how to react or how to interact with the girl.

Was this how his father had felt the first time he had seen him?

_No wonder father was so distant with me.  
_

He also didn't know how to introduce her to others. When she came to the center for the first time, he had sent everyone on a walk.

— Hello doctor, how are you today?

— Good morning, Agnes. I'm doing fine.

— Who's the little lady?

—...

Seeing that he wouldn't answer, Marinette introduced herself. Damian was then surprised to see that the little girl could speak Greek, although she had a small accent.

— Hello ma'am, I'm Marinette.

— Oh my God, she is so adorable! I didn't know you had a little sister!

— ...

— ...

— Did I say something wrong?

— Agnes, I don't think these files are going to organize themselves.

— Y-Yes, doctor, s-sorry.

After two days, everyone realized not to ask any questions about the kid.

The week had come to an end. On weekends, Dr. "Splinter" gave way to "Damian". This was his favorite part of the week when he could afford to feed the animals and spend time with them.

This time he would be accompanied by Marinette.

Maybe it was a chance to break the ice between them. He wanted to give himself a chance to at least get to know his daughter. Damian still remembered the first few weeks he had spent at the Manor.

His father had ignored him.

He still remembered the feeling he'd felt at that time.

His relationship with his mother was no better.

His mother saw him only as an instrument to win her father's affection.

**He did not want to repeat _this _pattern with his own daughter.**

Damian then took it upon himself. After all, he was the adult in the story. If he wanted to get to know the girl, it was up to him to take the lead.

That's why he chose to take her to the part of his land dedicated to the pet shelter.

He felt relieved when he saw her looking out the window. Her eyes seemed to sparkle.

— The shelter takes in abandoned animals from all over. It also serves as a rest center for animals that have been used for experiments, the goal is to rehabilitate them and find a family for them...

— It's huge!

— Mmmn.

— What kind of animals are there?

— Dogs, cats, rabbits, hens, rats, mice, birds, cows, lamas, donkeys, horses, sheep, camels, rams, bulls... A bit of everything.

— It's so cool.

— We're only going to take care of some of the dogs, the three donkeys and the two lamas. The rest of the staff will take care of the other boarders.

— All right!

Damian gave her a tour of the shelter. She was over the moon. He showed her how to feed the different animals, how to brush them, wash them...

Then finally came the turn of the two _toughest_ residents in the center...

— Meet Wallas and Percival, the lamas.

— Is it... normal for them to lower their ears like that?

— They're a bit... temperamental. I'll take care of them.

— All right.

Damian entered the lamas' enclosure and closed the gate behind him. Marinette watched him, waiting quietly on the other side of the fence.

It was without counting on the lamas' bad temper.

While he was cleaning their pen, one of the lamas managed to get out of the gate. He didn't realize it until he heard a scream.

\- KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Surprised, Damian came out of the enclosure, to discover Wallas the lama chasing Marinette, while Percival was uttering a small cry... The animal seemed amused by the situation.

Damian rushed to Marinette's rescue. He had no difficulty in stopping the ugly lama. He was used to it after all.

— I-I d-d-d-don't think... T-That he l-liked me a-at a-a-all...

The poor kid was out of breath.

— Those two don't like many people...

As he was about to put Wallas back in the pen with his companion, the animal decided that one last sneak attack was necessary. The lama turned and spat at Marinette.

\- HIIIIIIIIIII! That' s gross!

Damian knew it might not be the right time... but he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Marinette's outraged face was just... so... so... so...

— Father, this is NOT funny!

— Sorry Marinette... But it's just...

— Not funny! I hate lamas! I HATE THEM!

Damian had another laugh.

It was strange to see her so expressive. But at that very moment, he could recognize some of his temperament in her.

And that's how a little routine developed between them.

Marinette was home-schooled. She accompanied her father every day to the clinic and helped take care of the patients. On weekends, they went together to the various shelters to look after the animals.

For some reason... the lamas hated Marinette. And it was obviously mutual.

— No Marinette, for the last time, we are not going to turn the lamas into purses.

— We could...

— Neither in clothing nor as an accessory.

— But, uh...

— No, we're not going to give them away either.

— ...

— Yes, I know life is unfair. Welcome to reality.

Another important aspect of his life with Marinette was that his daughter was a meta-human. She had powers in common with her mother, but not only that.

Marinette could fly, cross matter and teleport, but only at close range and in places she knew. She could also read thoughts and manipulate memory.

Most importantly, Marinette had an ability that set her apart from her mother: **She could communicate with ghost and control them.**

And it was an ability she could " gift " to someone. Although the person with whom she "shares" her power, in reality they can only see the ghosts but not control them.

Now Damian was able to see dead people.

And boy, was it disturbing...

The young man then learned that there were several categories of ghosts. Some harmless, some more dangerous. Some ghosts had special abilities, such as possessing people, moving physical objects, throwing lasers... (those were dangerous). Others couldn't leave a certain place...

He then discovered, with some sadness, that there were also ghostly animals...

Damian also learned that Marinette had almost a thousand ghosts at her " service ", coming from several continents, several eras and even several different planets.

His daughter also explained to him, that she could feel when a person was about to die... Probably a side effect of her ghost-control power.

And yet, despite this impressive arsenal of abilities, the girl hated her powers and rarely used them. Since she had been with him, he had only seen her use her ability once, and that was when he closed the door in her face...

She briefly explained to him that "talking" with ghosts had caused her trouble in the past. That some of the people who had taken her in thought she was crazy. That the other children at the orphanage made fun of her. Alas, many ghosts liked her and started "avenging" her. This only made the situation worse as people became afraid of her. Marinette had a reputation for bringing bad luck.

— I am truly sorry Marinette.

— It's all right, father... It's not your fault.

She's huddled up to him. He put his arm around her to bring her closer.

Damian felt a gentle warmth spreading through his heart.

He felt it again. The feeling he'd lost long ago...

Damian felt like he'd found a family again.

**Better, to have his own family.  
**

Now the introductions were much easier.

— Doctor Splinter, it's a great pleasure to finally meet you. Tell me, who is this lovely little girl?

— Good morning Doctor, it's a pleasure to meet you too. This is Marinette.** She is my daughter.**

* * *

A/N : Opinions and suggestions are welcome!


	9. Chap 9: Daddy Dick

TO BE READ BEFORE THE CHAPTER:  
\- This story has a completely different timeline than the original. You've been warned.  
\- To begin with, Dick became a police officer at Blüdhaven as soon as he left Wayne Manor. He did have a few adventures with the Titans, he dated Kori for a while, but it didn't go far.  
\- When Dick was in space, "The Killing Joke" took place. Barbara became the Oracle. BUT Jason wasn't Robin yet! JASON NEVER KNEW BATGIRL! He'll only know "The Oracle".  
\- Jason has red hair.  
\- Speaking of Jason, he's currently 11 years old. Funny fact: Bruce took Jason in around the same time Dick took Marinette in...  
\- Dick and Barbara dated for a while, but she ended it.  
\- Dick became a cop at 18. He's currently 20.  
\- Barbara is currently 22.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Family meeting! (Dick)**

Barbara Gordon was an exceptional young woman. Former Batgirl, now the Oracle, the redhead was considered the best hacker in the world.

The young woman stared at her screen, her eyes bulging out.

Barbara had been keeping a close eye on her ex-boyfriend since he had left "the nest". She knew that Bruce wasn't doing it, for fear that the young man would disappear from his life for good.

Since their breakup, Dick had been very distant from her. He spoke to her very rarely lately... But to ignore her for a whole month! So she sought to find out more. And, damn it, she wasn't disappointed.

Dick had adopted a little girl.

Dick now had a child to support.

Dick had become a father.

**And he hadn't told anyone. **

The first thing she felt was anger. Why didn't that idiot say anything? What was his problem this time?

She read the adoption file. The more she read, the more exasperated she became. Given the little girl's story, Barbara was sure and certain that Dick adopted her on a whim.

_So Bruce's habit of adopting children is contagious..._

Barbara wanted to make contact with Dick. When Dick didn't answer, she decided to hack his camera. She then stumbled upon a scene that changed her mind completely. The camera provided a view of Dick's living room.

She could see Dick and the little girl doing flexibility exercises. The child couldn't make all the movements, so Dick patiently showed her how to do them. She would burst out laughing every time she could do a movement on her own. Dick laughed with her.

The redhead quickly understood what the former Robin was trying to do: he was preparing her. The dark-haired one no doubt wanted to teach her how to do some moves later...

Barbara found the scene touching.

The young woman began to observe Dick's daily life with the baby girl. She knew it was clearly voyeurism, but the young lady wanted to understand why Dick hadn't said anything.

The more she watched, the more she had to face the fact that Dick was happy. And this little girl, Marinette, she was just adorable. Barbara even wondered who the child really was between him and Marinette. He was being led around by the nose.

**It was just cute. **

Barbara concluded that Dick was a moron and that he must have just forgotten to mention it. And given his hectic schedule, that was no surprise.

**Dick was genuinely happy. **

She hadn't seen him smile so much or laugh so much in quite a while...

If she could keep him happy for as long as possible...

The moment Bruce entered the equation, things would get complicated. Especially now that there was Jason...

_Come to think of it, I'm sure Bruce didn't tell Dick he'd taken in another boy... They're quite a pair, those two... _

**So Barbara decided to hide his secret. **

She made sure Bruce didn't find out about the adoption.

-XxxX-

Dick was nervous.

Bruce had invited him to come to the manor with Marinette.

The young man knew that Bruce was still deeply affected by his departure. He himself was not really at ease with the idea of returning to the Manor after their last fight. Although, since Marinette had appeared in his life, he hadn't given it much thought.

This thought made him feel guilty.

He had shut himself away in his own little world and had not considered other people's feelings at all. He should have told Bruce, Alfred, Barbara, his friends... He felt terribly selfish.

— What do Grandpa's house look like?

— Does.

— Hm?

— It's "does", not "do".

— What does Grandpa's house look like?

He took a quick look in his rearview mirror. Marinette was sitting in the back, comfortably settled in a child's chair. She was wearing a little red dress with a white dot. There was a small black belt around her waist, which formed a small knot. She had little black English shoes. He had made two buns on either side of her little head, which he had tied with two little black ribbons to form knots (yes, now he was a master in the modest art of "hairdressing" little girls). Next to her was her favorite backpack of the moment: a bag in the shape of a little white rabbit.

God, how cute she was!

— It's... very big.

— How big?

— Mmmm... bigger than our building.

— Oooooh! Mari wants to see!

Dick smiles at her.

They arrived at the manor far too quickly for his taste.

The young man took his time getting out of his car, then helped Marinette out.

— Waaaaaaaaaa! Big!

— I told you, Sunshine.

They headed for the door, where Alfred was already waiting for them.

— Master Dick, it's good to see you again.

— Hello, Alfred...

Marinette looked at the butler with curiosity. Then she approached him with a huge smile on her face while reaching out her hand.

— _Bonjour_! I'm Marinette.

— Good morning Miss Marinette. I'm Alfred Pennyworth.

Alfred shook Marinette's hand and smiled gently. The butler led them inside.

Marinette looked everywhere. She wasn't used to this kind of place. Dick let her. Alfred didn't seem to mind her behavior either. Marinette finally came back to him, jumping up and down.

— Vampire!

— Uh?!

Okay, that one he didn't see coming.

— Grandpa has Dracula's house!

— The house of Dra-... No, _Sunshine_, "Grandpa" is not _Dracula_...

— He is! Grandpa's a bat... And... He came in through the window!

Dick had a sudden urge to strangle Bruce. He had spent hours explaining to Marinette that no, it wasn't "normal" to go into people's homes by the window! And that no, she shouldn't tell anyone that she had seen Batman.

— He dresses like a bat, but he's not a bat...

She was silent for a while.

— So... He likes to dress up too?

— ...Hmmmmmmmm...

Alfred decided to come to his rescue. The young man soon realized the butler was more than amused by the situation.

— Master Bruce is waiting for you in the living room. Please come with me.

-XxxX-

Bruce was nervous.

He hadn't seen Dick in almost a year, and now the man learned that Dick had adopted a little girl. Which meant he had a granddaughter. Bruce was not sure how he should react to this situation.

And then there was Jason.

The boy was with him in the living room. Bruce could see he was nervous.

He heard voices in the hallway.

— Can Grandpa fly?

— Marinette, stop.

— Mari wants to know!

— Fly?

He looked at the child. The little girl looked at him too. Her eyes suddenly began to shine, and she gave him a beautiful smile. She almost threw herself at him.

— Grandpa!

_Grandpa?!_

— Hm… Good morning.

— Grandpa looks young….. for a vampire.

— …

There was a silence before it was completely shattered by Jason's laughter.

The little girl watched the boy with curiosity.

Bruce had imagined this meeting. Several scenarios had unfolded in his mind.

**This was not one of them. **

He looked up at Dick, intrigued. The latter facepalmed, exasperated, then turned his attention to Jason. He raised an eyebrow and turned to Bruce, intrigued.

Bruce cleared his throat.

— Dick, this is Jason, he's been living at the manor for... some time.

— I see.

Dick was obviously disturbed by the news. But before he had time to say anything, the child took the lead.

— Hi! I'm Marinette.

—... Jason...

— You're handsome. I like your hair!

— Eh?!... Hmmm... Thank you... I guess...

— Friends?

— …

-XxxX-

Dick was suddenly extremely grateful that Marinette was such a sociable child...

He understood better why Bruce hadn't blamed him when he learned of Marinette's existence, the bugger also had something to hide. Therefore, it would have been really hypocritical of him to blame his guardian for any of this, wouldn't it?

Dick observed how Marinette was literally vibrating with enthusiasm in front of the boy, Jason, if he had understood correctly. He felt sorry for him, Marinette didn't always respect people's space. This could clearly be upsetting when you weren't used to it.

— Sunflower, why don't you give Jason some space?

— Oh... All right!

Her attention turned back to Bruce again.

— Mari never seen a vampire before...

— Marinette, how many times do I have to tell you? Bruce is not a vampire!

— But... the window...

— He just climbed up.

—…. Why?...

— That's a good question, right... Why Bruce?

Dick looked up at him with a sly smile. From the corner of his eye he could see that Jason seemed to be holding back laughs.

Marinette turned all her attention to Bruce with her little bright eyes, waiting for his answer.

Bruce honestly didn't know how to react.

— I... wanted to surprise him?

Dick held his laugh as best as he could.

Jason let out a little squeak, indicating that he was trying in vain to hold back his laughter.

The baby girl looked at him for a while, then shook her little head from right to left.

— Grandpa just doesn't know how to use the door. Mari's disappointed...

— …

Dick couldn't help himself.

**He burst out laughing. **

Jason followed him.

-XxxX-

Bruce had to admit, that for the first time in a very long time, he had been caught off guard.

That little Marinette was... _intriguing_. She asked questions.

**A LOT of questions.**

It all started with a simple remark.

— Grandpa, your house's big... aren't you alone?

— I'm not alone. Alfred and Jason live here.

She turned to Jason, who was accompanying the "visit", and whispered.

— Vampire…

Jason gave her a shy smile.

Bruce didn't know if he should be worried or not by this reaction.

Then another question...

— What's your job?

— I run a business.

— What's a business?

— Mmmmm...

And another one...

— Grandpa, you have a big family?

— No, not really. It's just Alfred, Dick, Jason and me.

— Then why do you have such a big table?

— Well...

Bruce felt like this little girl wanted _to question his whole life_. And Dick wasn't doing anything to help him. Instead, he encouraged her to ask as many questions as possible...

**Traitor. **

Then, during dinner.

— Why _Monsieur_ Pennyworth aren't eating?

— Alfred's the butler, Sunflower.

Marinette frowned, confused.

— The… _Butter_?

— Butler, sweetheart.

— _Bitter_?

— But-ler.

— _Butt_-ler!

— …

— …

— …

—… What's a butt-ler?

**That child was truly innocence incarnate.**

— I work here, miss. My job is to help Master Bruce with the daily chores.

— Oh... Grandpa can't take care of himself?

Dick had to restrain himself from laughing, but he still had a huge smile on his face. Bruce frowned, while Alfred sneezed with a slight grin. Poor Jason choked with his piece of meat.

At the end of dinner, it was time for Dick to put Marinette to bed. As they were about to leave the room... Marinette stopped dead in her tracks.

— Wait _Papa_!

She ran up to Bruce and pulled his sleeve. Bruce ducked, intrigued. The little girl kissed him on the cheek and smiled.

— Good night, Grandpa!

She did the same thing with Alfred and Jason, then followed Dick to her room. He could hear their conversation.

— Papa... Why Monsieur Pennyworth doesn't have hair?

— Mmmm... Alfred isn't young anymore, sugar cube.

— Papa gonna lose his hair too?

— Ahahahaha... That's an excellent question... I don't know...

Bruce couldn't help smiling a little bit, which didn't go unnoticed.

Later, Dick joined Bruce in the Bat-cave. Bruce was training Jason. He watched them practice for a moment. Then he saw Dick leave to change and walk towards them. To his surprise, he offered to show Jason some moves. The boy seemed thrilled at the idea.

Bruce was relieved. He had been afraid his eldest son would reject the boy. The Dark Knight suspected that the presence of Marinette had a lot to do with it.

That evening, while Dick accompanied him on patrol (Jason had not yet finished his training and was not ready yet to parol).

— She's… a nice little girl.

— If by "nice" you mean absolutely adorable, lovely, cute, affectionate and talkative... Than yes, it's my baby girl.

— Mmmmm.

— Jason seems cool.

— Mm-hmm.

Dick was happy to show all the pictures he had taken of little Marinette since she lived with him... When he learned that Dick already had three complete photo albums, Bruce made a mental note: avoid the subject "Marinette" while on patrol. 

The weekend ended quickly.

Unsurprisingly, Alfred already loved Marinette. Dick found himself with a million recommendations from the butler.

As for Jason, he, too, seemed to like the little girl. She hadn't let him out of her sight all weekend. Bruce had even seen Jason reading her some quotes from a book. Then he also realized that the kid was very affectionate. Everybody had been allowed at least one hug (including him).

Dick promised to come back and visit more regularly.

He kept his promise by coming to the manor one week out of two.

Bruce started visiting Dick at Blüdhaven with Jason. Not as Batman, but just as Bruce.

He started buying gifts for Marinette.

Not long after, the manor house was filled with toys...

Jason officially adopted her as his little sister.

And soon,

**"Grandpa" became his new favorite word.**


	10. Chap 10: Daddy Jay

**Chapter 10: Family Meeting (Jason)**

Jason was extremely worried.

Marinette was complaining of ear pain. She cried constantly. To make things worse, his precious _Pixie Pop _had a high fever. She ate very little because of the pain.

So like any good parent, he took his precious little girl to the hospital.

The prognosis quickly fell: an ear infection.

Nothing very serious. The doctor simply recommended giving her paracetamol, the infection should disappear after a few days.

[At that point, too absorbed in his daughter, he didn't realize that another person from his past was present at the same time, in the same hospital. He was so focused on Marinette that he also didn't realize that this person had followed him, or that he had now his adress].

**Alas, the paracetamol had no effect.  
**

Marinette's crying intensified; her fever became higher. She didn't eat at all.

Quickly judging the hospital doctor to be incompetent, he turned to the only other person he had complete faith in: Dr. Leslie.

The good woman was the only person who knew his secret. She was also the only person from his past with whom he interacted very regularly. His Pixie loved her, and he knew it was mutual. So when he called her, she dropped everything in Gotham to come see him. Leslie took with her all the equipment she needed to do some tests on the spot.

— Jason... I have good news and bad news. It seems that, unfortunately, Marinette has inherited your drug resistance.

— W-What? How the hell does something like that happen?! You're telling me these shitty waters are circulating in my daughter's veins, too?!

— I don't know how that's possible, son. On the other hand, yes, it's possible there is a connection.

Silence followed those words. Jason ran his hand through his hair, slightly shaking.

— Is she like this because of me?

— No. That's just the second piece of news. Her blood has powerful antibodies, superior to that of a normal human being. At the rate her body reacts, in three days at the most, the infection will be completely gone. The problem is, she's still very small and her metabolism isn't keeping pace. I'm going to inject her with a stronger painkiller. She should get much better.

— R-Really?

— Affirmative.

Leslie, then immediately injected Marinette with a stronger-than-normal dose of pain medication. The effect was immediate. Little Pixie stopped crying.

Jason felt relieved. At least now his little princess could breathe a little.

— I'm going to leave you some drinking solutions to give every six hours. You should only give them to her if she's in pain. I'll be back in three days to make sure everything's in order.

— And that's it? All she has to do is take painkillers? No antibiotics or any of that crap?

— No, no need. However, I'm going to do some more tests on her blood. After all, you're not an ordinary boy, and this child's mother is a meta-human.

— Hmm.

Leslie didn't stay very long, after all, it was a several-hour drive from Metropolis to Gotham.

— Leslie... Thank you so much. I don't know what I would've done without you.

— It's all right, son. I can't abandon my favorite goddaughter.

Jason smiles shyly at her. Then he watched Leslie leave again. Marinette happily waved her little hand to wish her goodbye.

— Bye-Bye.

— So... who wants some soup?

— Mia-Mia!

The dark-haired smiled tenderly, placed a kiss on the forehead of his little treasure, and immediately went into the kitchen to prepare a soup.

**Seven months and two weeks.**

That was the exact amount of time that had passed since Red Hood disappeared.

The young man didn't get along with Jason at first. The guy had tried to murder him anyway.

Then with time, the new Robin had finally understood that the dark-haired man had not been himself during this time. Jason was angry, he had just been resurrected through the Lazarus's pit, had learned that he had been replaced by someone else very soon after his death, and moreover only Heaven knew what Talia Al Ghul had been able to implant as an idea in the mind of the former Robin.

So Tim had taken it upon himself to try and get close to his predecessor. He had had to endure a lot of insults and draw from his reserve of patience, but the result was worth it. Jason had finally accepted him. They talked to each other from time to time, exchanging information. They even went to movies together!

He was apparently the closest person to Jason now.

At least that's what he thought. After all, he was the only one Jason didn't immediately dismiss.

Maybe he had misread the signs?

He had to be honest, at first, it didn't worry him more than that. The guy wasn't the most outgoing person in this family. He did what he liked when he liked. So maybe he just decided to take a trip without telling anyone. There was nothing to worry about. It was just Jason being Jason.

Then the months went by, and Jason was nowhere to be found. When he learned that even Roy had no idea where he was. He realized this was serious.

To make things worse, there were rumors of Red Hood's death. Tim had never realized how important Red Hood was to Gotham. Now, East End was a living hell. There were gang wars. There were turf wars. There were turf wars. Illegal trade had quadrupled...

Red Hood wasn't dead.

He couldn't have been.

He refused to believe it!

And Tim was certain that no one in the family did.

Tim didn't realize how obsessive his research had become until Connor pointed it out to him.

So he listened to his best friend. He came to Metropolis with him, visited Lois Lane in the hospital... She'd recently had a baby. Unfortunately, the baby was born extremely weak and in need of constant medical attention. It wasn't a joy. Since he was born, the poor kid hadn't left the hospital for a single moment. He knew Superman was extremely worried about his son...

Connor was also worried about his "little brother."

He felt like a bad friend. Connor was in an awkward situation, and he was just obsessed with Jason's disappearance.

**That's when he saw him.  
**

— Thank you, doctor.

— You're very welcome. If there is the same complication do not hesitate to come back.

It was Jason.

**With a baby in his arms.**

Tim's brain shorted out. Without thinking, he followed him.

Jason was alive.

Jason lived in Metropolis.

Jason was taking care of a baby.

Jason was with a baby.

Jason has a baby.

Jason.

**Baby.  
**

**WHAT THE FU** ?!**

**WHEN?  
**

**WHO'S THE MOTHER ?!**

**JASON HAS A KID FOR PETE'S SAKE!**

Tim sent a quick apology to Connor and spent the rest of his week observing Jason.

He saw when Leslie arrived.

He saw how Jason took care of the baby.

He saw Jason changing diapers... DIAPERS!

Still in shock, and completely out of it, Tim picked up his phone and dialed the first number on his list.

He didn't have to wait long for the person on the other end of the line to answer.

— Hi Tim-

— I found Jason.

— Huh? You did?! Where the hell is he? Is he okay? Why did he disappear-

— Jason has a baby.

— …

— …

— You're gonna laugh, for a minute there I thought you said Jason has a baby.

— …

— …Jason…. Has a baby?

— …

— **JASON HAS A BABY?!**

Tim began to hear Dick go into a state of panic. He was reassured to know he wasn't the only one who was shocked by the news.

After a long time, Dick finally regained his composure.

— Okay... Well... Let's just stay calm...

— Red Hood isn't dead... he's just gone on paternity break...

— Please don't ever say that again, I get chills... Are you sure this baby is even his?

— I don't know, and I'm not sure if that information is important. The point is, he's taking care of it like it's his own... He's changing diapers, Dick... diapers! He sings lullabies... he plays with dolls...

— Did you take pictures? Tell me you took pictures!

— Seriously? That's the only thing you care about?

— Are you kidding me?! I just found out I have a niece! Of course I want pictures!

— What are we gonna do about it? It's clear to me that Jason left because he didn't want anyone to know.

— We have to tell Bruce. Jason's sudden disappearance is driving him crazy. Then... I think it's best to watch from a distance and wait.

The news surprises everyone.

Bruce seemed to be the most shocked of them all. Of all the scenarios he'd envisioned, this one wasn't going to be on the list.

At Dick's insistence, Tim had finally managed to take some pictures. It wasn't easy, Jason was extremely meticulous with his security.

— OH MY GOD! She's so cute! Look at that face! [Dick]

— Hmm... The young mistress has her father's eyes. [Alfred]

— The great Red Hood changing a diaper... If it wasn't for this picture, I wouldn't have believed it. [Barbara]

Only Bruce remained silent.

Tim watched him for a moment.

Bruce was worried.

The question was _why_. Tim was sure Bruce knew more than he was willing to admit.

-XxxX-

**_They_** had found him.

How did he know?

Very simple.

**That bunch of fools were NOT DISCRETE AT ALL!**

Was he almost out of diapers? Several packages mysteriously appeared at his door.

He was at the park? Superman or Superboy flew over the area several times completely by chance. What if it turned out to be every Thursday at _exactly the same time **HIM** was there_? **_Coincidence_.**

Had he vaguely told one of his neighbors that he wanted to be a college student in the future? The fact that there were _flyers_ with a list of the best babysitters in the country in his letterbox _**had nothing to do with it.**_

He loved dressing up Marinette? Oh, yeah, sure. Now he had costumes from the entire Justice League that had appeared in _his living room_.

Jason decided to do a little test.

He wanted to see _how far_ this moron could go.

The young daddy took Marinette to a toy store. He let her play with every toy she could get her hands on. Marinette was now living the best life she had ever had. All excited and happy to be able to try out so many different toys.

Then, after almost an hour and a half, he said THE sentence that would trigger the apocalypse in Marinette's world.

— Pixie, you can only choose one toy.

— NO!

Marinette had already formed a small stack of toys and was in the process of adding a Barbie doll to the top of the pile.

— Honey, daddy can't buy all that. Pick one.

— MINE!

She puffed up her little cheeks and squeezed the toy stack, staring at him directly in the eyes. In those moments, Jason realized how much she looked like him.

His daughter was just as stubborn as he was.

To think that this little treasure was about to turn a year old...

Even though he thought she was absolutely adorable (and at that moment wanted to buy the whole store for her). He had to hold on. So he looked her straight in the eyes and frowned, while taking a firm voice.

— Marinette. I won't repeat myself.

— …

She stared at him for a moment. Then her little face decomposed into a grimace. She now had tears in her eyes.

_OH NO... god please, no... I'm so sorry, Pixie pop..._

Marinette looked at her pile of toys, and finally picked up a single toy and handed it to him, still with her little eyes in tears. She refrained from crying.

It might sound stupid, but he had a furious desire to cry with her.

But he had to be strong. If his theory was right... then...

Jason realized that he had gone too far when the next morning he received **A WHOLE TRUCK OF TOYS!**

_Seriously?! Are they fucking kidding me?! Where the hell am I gonna put all this?!_

Marinette was thrilled.

**And he was terrified.**

Jason called the Manor the same day.

That's how he found himself preparing dinner to welcome none other than Bruce Wayne and his cohorts to his home.

Many things happened during that dinner. First thing... Bruce had fallen in love with his daughter... He never thought he'd see the great Batman act like a pampered grandpa in front of a child. He even let her play with his hair! Marinette completely messed up his hair and he let her do it... **WITH A SMILE**!

— Jason... you-

— No.

— I said anything yet...

— You want me to go to Gotham.

— …

— No.

—... Alright. Then...

— Her mother's dead. I'm her biological father, it's all you have to know.

— …

— No, you can't place camera in my house.

— …

— Don't look at me like that, you'll look like Marinette when she lost her favorite toy.

— …..

Second thing, he wanted to kill Dick. This guy had a problem, there was no other explanation. Jason thought he was obsessed with the photos of Marinette, _that was before he let Dick meet his daughter_. Now, Dick would show up at his house unannounced, any time of the week...**to take pictures**... The worst part? Marinette loved "Ri-Ri". (Him living his daughter will never call him "Uncle Dick") So he had to let him stay home.

— D-... Ric, Leave.

— What? Why?

— Ri-Ri! Areuuuh... Bababa...dada...Hihihihihi. *babbling*

— See? She don't want me to leave!

— Richard, it's 11 p.m. **Go Home**.

— NO! I want to stay with little Mari!

— Ri-Ri, stay, stay!

— See? She's agreed with me!

— ... How old are you again? ...

Third, Alfred had completely lost his mind. He was getting daily packages from the butler, containing homemade food.

— Alfred... You're overdoing it. I can take care of Marinette.

— I have no doubt Master Jason, however, someone has to take care of you, too.

— Alfred... I'm 20 years old.

— Kids grow up fast these days. Do you have a preference for tomorrow's dish?

— ….

Fourth thing, god bless Timothy Jackson Drake. He was the only sane person in this family. Even though deep down Jason realized that Tim's biggest problem wasn't that he didn't like Marinette or kids in general. Rather, it was the fact that he had no idea how to take care of them. His " enthusiasm " for Marinette was much more moderate at the time.

Finally, two months after meeting the Wayne family on the anniversary of his little Pixie's first year of life, Jason decided to mark the occasion. First of all by organizing a small party for her, but also by changing her last name for good. Until now, Jason had decided to use a false name, which was " Thomas Dupain-Cheng ". His daughter's current name was "Marinette Dupain-Cheng". After discussing the matter with Tim and Barbara, he finally accepted their help to officially return from the dead.

**Now she's Marinette-Sabine Todd.** (Even though he was grateful to Catherine for raising him... He didn't want his daughter to be named after someone who screwed up her life over drugs.)

Not only that, he had also made a firm decision to return to his studies. He really wanted to get a university degree so that he could get a good job and provide Marinette with the best life possible, away from fear and violence. Far away from the life he had known as a child. For this, he gave up his life as Red Hood completely and permanently. As long as Marinette was a child, he would not return to the life of a vigilante either.

**Jason Peter Todd will live a normal life.  
**

To his surprise, Bruce completely approved of the idea. He helped him with frightening enthusiasm. Everything was close by on Marinette's birthday.

But because he was Jason, his life could not be that simple.

The morning after Marinette's birthday, he found a package in his letterbox. Inside the little package was a little teddy bear, which had been wrapped around orange and black gift wrap.

There was a simple card: Happy birthday, little flower.

Jason felt shivers running down his spine.

His worst nightmare was coming true.

**Slade Wilson knew about Marinette.**


	11. Chap 11: Daddy Tim

I dedicate this chapter to **The Forgotten Guardian**, which gave me the idea to use the opening of Batman, by Adam West.

Just also to say that I read all your comments with great pleasure, and that I note all the suggestions I get ;)

* * *

**Chapter 11: Family Meeting (Tim)**

— DRAAAAAKEEEE!

Tim sighed.

It was really early, Tim was about to leave for work at his office. At his side, Marinette was eating her pancakes with appetite, she really loved Alfred's pancakes.

The day before, Marinette had told him that Damian had broken her computer again. The young man suspected that his daughter had already taken revenge, so he was prepared to have a headache in the morning.

Damian opened the kitchen door violently.

— When are you going to teach that stupid little harlot a lesson?

— Language Master Damian.

— Good morning to you too Damian.

— …

Marinette looked at Damian out of the corner of her eye and decided to ignore him.

Damian was clearly going to walk towards her, angry, but Tim stopped him first.

— What do you want Damian?

— This little pest put cockroaches in my room! All my stuff is infested!

_Yeah... sounds exactly like something Marinette would do to Damian... That being said, if he wasn't so intent on getting her, she wouldn't spend her life playing tricks on him._

Indeed, Marinette was quiet and wise most of the time. She had stopped playing tricks on everyone except Damian. But it had to be said that these two hated each other. Damian deliberately broke his daughter's toys, he was mean to her constantly, spoke very badly to her, pushed her around for no reason, and the list went on and on.

**Bad luck for Damian, Marinette didn't let him.**

**She would always get back at him and hit him back.  
**

This situation weighed on everyone. Especially since Bruce, who didn't like Marinette either, was partial to the affair. This meant that Damian was verbally reprimanded, but got away with it every time, while Marinette was always punished for her actions. This was very annoying to Tim. But also to make Marinette hate Bruce... And frankly, he couldn't blame her (he too was starting to seriously resent his mentor).

Apart from those two, his daughter got along with everyone. She and Mar'i loved each other. She got along very well with little Jon, with Wally's twins, with little Liam... Marinette had no problem with the other older children. The other parents in the hero community had no problem with her either. They all thought she was cute.

Jason, who babysat her from time to time, loved her very much. Cassandra regularly kidnapped her to play with her (and do her hair). She and Steph had finally gotten along (a story with a manicure, he sincerely hadn't understood how dyeing your nails was a sign of "peace between girls"). Dick had come to like him too, especially seeing how Marinette and Mar'i would laugh a lot together. Barbara was a regular babysitter. Bruce's cousin, Kate, had already tried to "steal" his daughter from him several times. She was perhaps the one who loved Marinette the most, especially after hearing the story about customizing Bat-mobiles into "Kitty-mobiles".

**The only one who was a pain in the a** was Damian.  
**

Marinette was four and a half years old. Damian was 12. According to Bruce, it was up to his four-and-a-half-year-old daughter to be _mature_ and _respectful_, while a damn twelve-year-old kid was getting away with disrespect to everyone.

_Just awesome._

— Mmmm. And I suppose you didn't do anything to make her do such a thing. Assuming Mari really did it.

— TT, this girl is proof of your incompetence, Drake. If only father-

— Stop always being mean to my dad!

— It's nothing Mari... Finish your breakfast, we'll leave as soon as you're done.

— I'm done.

She put her spoon on the table and got up from her chair. Tim took her in his arms. With Damian in the room, it was dangerous to let her walk alone (that little demon had already pushed her down the stairs).

Unfortunately, Damian was not about to let go.

— I demand that this little plague take responsibility for her actions and come and clean up her act of vandalism!

— What's going on now?

Bruce was there. _Perfect_... as if the situation wasn't enough annoying as it is.

— This nuisance has been putting bugs in my stuff, my room is infested!

_Yes... With woodlice, it looks just like you Demon Spawn._

— Marinette, is that true?

— Bruce, I have an important appointment this morning, I don't have time for Damian's stupidity.

— Tim, it's not yours-

Tim left the room with little Marinette in his arms. He didn't feel like getting into a fight with Bruce so early in the morning.

— TT, YOU COWARD! If you could lose that stupid brat somewhere it would be a favor to everyone!

— Damian, that's enough. Eat your lunch.

Marinette tightened her little arms around him. He squeezed her a little tighter around him.

Clearly, he had had enough.

Marinette had been with Tim for a little over a year now. She was a constant presence in his life, and since she was there, he had company all the time. The days at the office weren't as boring and tedious as they used to be. Mari had brought him joy in life.

She was his little ray of sunshine.

**He didn't give a damn how she was born.**

Bruce didn't like her and Damian was a spoiled brat. One wanted Tim to give her to someone more "competent" to take care of her (although he didn't say so clearly, Tim understood the insinuations perfectly well). The other just didn't like that someone else was getting attention.

They weren't the ones who had hugs every morning, every day.

They weren't the ones who tried to cheer him up when he got depressed (usually no one noticed. But she did. She always did. At times like that, she'd give him kisses on the cheek and say "I love you, Daddy").

They weren't the ones who would come and snuggle up with him every night to invite him to sleep (and when she was there with him, he didn't have nightmares, on the best days he had up to six hours of sleep).

They weren't the ones helping him with all that damn WE paperwork. (And certainly not Bruce who, under the pretext of trusting him, let him manage everything. On the other hand, he was looking at the sales figures, as if to check his work... Trust my a**!). Marinette may have been a little girl, but she always tried to help him with the reports.

Sometimes when he felt irritated, when he was under too much pressure, she would make his favorite coffee (she knew how to use the coffee machine better than he did...).

**She was a sweetheart.**

All these little things made him love her unconditionally. This little girl brought him light, warmth and comfort.

But of course, no one knew that. He was the only one who knew this side of the little girl.

He didn't give a damn about what other people thought.

**Marinette Drake-Wayne was his daughter. That was the only truth for him.**

**Then finally came THE incident.**

**The last straw that broke the camel's back.**

It was an early night. Tim was stressed. Due to a miscommunication, a delivery that was meant for Wayne Industries ended up at Wayne Biotech. It was a big mistake, but one that was now delaying several other projects.

To make things worse, he was working on a case that he had left lying around for too long. He had neglected his duty as Red Robin...

He hadn't slept in almost four days, he was really on edge.

Tim had a really heavy head, so he got up to go and make himself a coffee in the kitchen, maybe mix it with an energy drink as well.

That was when he heard one scream, then a second, then a third.

— Is she dead?

— Don't be ridiculous!

He moved a little mechanically towards the source of the noise.

**Then he froze for a few seconds.  
**

In front of him was Marinette lying on the ground. Dick was talking to Damian, who had blood on his hands and on his shirt, while Stephanie seemed to be examining her head.

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**Marinette was on the floor.**

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**Marinette wasn't moving.  
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He couldn't tell when he had moved, nor when he violently pushed Stephanie to practically rip his daughter out of her arms.

She was probably just unconscious. But at that moment, he sincerely felt like he was holding a corpse in his arms. Marinette's head fell to the side, blood was running from her temple. He heard Alfred enter the room and immediately rushed to him. He heard Bruce's footsteps as he reasoned in the hallway. He could hear everything going on around him. Yet the only thing he could focus on was Marinette's inert body. **His daughter's body. **

His voice initially came out like a whisper. But to those who listened, his voice sounded like a sharp knife.

— _What the hell did you do_?

Everyone seemed to freeze on the spot.

Tim looked up at Damian, who still hadn't moved from his original position.

— **WHAT DID YOU DO?!**

His cry of pure rage startled Damian. And not just him. Dick and Steph also seemed to come out of their stupor.

It was one of the few moments when Tim let his anger take over very clearly. He wasn't just angry, he knew it, the feeling he felt was much more violent than that.

Right then and there, Tim wanted to kill Damian.

And he probably would have, if Marinette's little whimper hadn't distracted him. Luckily, she seemed to wake up. She had just momentarily lost consciousness.

After a few tests at the Bat-Cave, Alfred confirmed that, in the end, there had been more fear than harm. Marinette came out of it with just a huge bruise on her forehead and a few stitches in her eyebrow arch.

He then learned that Damian thought Marinette had played another trick on him, namely that she had stolen some of his clothes. As everyone was now used to Damian and Marinette's daily arguments, neither Dick nor Steph paid attention. On the way to confront her, and in a fit of anger, he had kicked Marinette's chair, which then fell backwards and banged her head violently against the floor. She lost consciousness. But Damian didn't notice it right away, it wasn't until he started shaking her and saw that she didn't react that he realized what he had done.

Marinette didn't move.

Mar'i, having then witnessed the whole scene, believed that Damian had killed Marinette. That's why she started screaming in complete fear, drawing the attention of the two adults in the room. In the end, Marinette was completely innocent, since it was Alfred who had taken Damian's clothes to wash them.

The incident made Tim realize one thing: this place was not a safe environment for Marinette. Damian was a brat who was always given everything. And today he came very close to killing Marinette. She had just lost consciousness, but she could have broken her neck in the fall.

_Damian tried to kill my daughter._

It was the thought that went round and round in his mind. Damian had already tried to kill him several times. What if this time he went after Marinette to get revenge on him?

He watched Marinette asleep on her bed. He put his hand on her little head, covered with bandages.

— Tim?

The young man didn't even bother to turn around. He didn't feel like talking to anyone, especially Bruce.

— How is she?

No answer.

Bruce approached the bed. He looked for a moment, then turned towards him. Tim didn't look at him, he was still focused on Marinette.

— Tim... I'm really sorry.

— …

— Look, I-

— **Get out.**

— …

— I'm serious, Bruce. You're the last person I want to see right now. I don't want to hear your stupid excuses. Do me a favor and do what you've been doing for the last few years: **ignore me and live your life. **

— …

As soon as Marinette got her strength back, Tim left the Manor.

**No one dared tell him anything.  
**

Tim badly needed some air. So he decided that from now on, he would only take care of the international branches of WE. If Bruce wanted his business to work, he could take _his a**_ back to the office. 

No one could change his mind, quite the opposite, the more people came to talk to him, the more his anger grew.

**Everybody could go fu** themselves.  
**

**He was fed up.**

**Two year later.**

Bruce was in the Bat-cave. Damian was there too. He was practicing with his sword.

Suddenly, music started playing in the cave.

_"NaNaNaNaNaNaNa BATMANNNN!"_

Bruce immediately frowned.

— Father... What is this?

_"NaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNa BATMAAAANNNNNNN!"_

The music was getting louder and louder. Bruce tried to identify where this strange song came from.

Soon, the Manor was also invaded by this horrible music, waking up those who had stayed the night (they had been working on a rather complicated case the day before, everyone was tired).

_"NaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNa BATMAAAANNNNNN!"_

— What is this music?!

— Nananana... Batman~...

— Cass... Just don't.

After a good hour of searching all over the cave AND the Manor, Bruce finally managed to turn off that horrible music.

So that it would play again immediately _elsewhere_ in the manor...

Bruce was going to gut whoever dared to put this atrocity in the Bat-Cave!

The next day, everyone who had stayed in the Manor that night found themselves humming the "Batman theme" at least once during the day.

Bruce was unpleasantly surprised to discover that this atrocious music was accompanied by a video showing a cartoon version of Batman accompanied by the first Robin... which had been sent to the Justice League, the Teen Titans... and the entire hero community.

How the hell was he going to stay credible after that?!

He realized that he had not been the only one to have a "theme" (although his was the most ridiculous). Superman also had an official theme, as did Wonder Woman, Aquaman and the Justice League. Everything had been sent directly to the Watchtower computer. Everyone seemed to be amused and delighted with their theme.

Diana loved her "song" so much, she decided to make it her ringtone.

Now every once in a while, you could hear the chorus:

_Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman ~_

_Now the world is ready for you._

_And the wonders you can do._

_Make a hawk a dove, Stop a war with love,_

_Make the liar tell the truth._

Why was he the only one with such a childish theme?!

Worse still, Tim was finally going to come back to the Manor after two years abroad, and that awful music could return at any moment...

-XxxX-

Away from the Manor, in a superb, ultra-modern two-storey house. A little girl was carefully erasing an audio editing program. She giggled as quietly as she could.

— Marinette.

— Yes, Father?

— What did you do?

— Nothing!

The next day, he received a copy of a piece of music, which had now become the official "Batman theme".

Did he ever say how much he loved his daughter?

That very afternoon, they left for the Manor House together, for the first time in ages.

* * *

Lists of themes that Marinette has "created" for the different heroes in this AU:

\- _The Batman_ by Adam West (Batman Theme)

\- _Wonder Woman_ by Charles Fox & Norman Gimbel (Wonder Woman theme)

\- _Superman_ by John Williams

\- _Justice League theme_ by Lolita Ritmanis (from the Justice League TV Series)

\- _First Flight_ by Robert J. Kral (Green Lantern Theme)

\- Aquaman (2018) Soundtrack _Arthur_ by Rupert Gregson-Williams (Aquaman Theme)

\- _The Fastest Man Alive _by Blake Neely (Flash Theme)

\- _You Have Failed This City_ by Blake Neely (Green Arrow Theme)

\- _My Name Is J'onn J'onzz_ by Blake Neely (Martian Manhunter Theme)

\- _Nightwing theme_ by Shirley Walker (Nightwing theme)

\- _See you...in Hell_ \- Christopher Drake (Red Hood Theme)

\- Light theme in Death Note (Red Robin Theme…Yeah, I know, Tim's not evil… Not yet xD, but seriously, He have potential to become THE greatest villain!)


	12. Chap 12: Daddy Damian

**Note: Thanks to all those who take the time to comment! I can't always answer everyone (I'm very upside down). But I really wanted to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. 3**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Family Meeting (Damian)**

Damian sighed for the thirtieth time since the beginning of the day.

Marinette looked at him silently.

It was a special day.

He and Marinette were on a plane to Gotham.

After seven long years away, Damian had made a decision to see his father again.

It was a difficult decision to make. But there was a lot of water under the bridge... He was no longer a child. It was high time he faced his past.

Damian wanted his daughter to get to know his family. His greatest fear was that she would become like him as a child. A self-assured, proud, arrogant, pretentious person who looked down on everyone.

**Alas, this child had inherited his character. **

She was going down exactly the same path as him.

The last thing Damian wanted was for his daughter to become a gambler like him.

Damian had one hope: that his father's influence could help Marinette change her behavior.

**7 years ago.**

The world was being consumed.

She saw people being chased by what appeared to be black butterflies, but they had an evil aura. The people affected by these butterflies were turning into monsters. She could clearly see that many heroes were being touched by these awful butterflies.

It was then that she heard a cry. The cry of an eagle.

The animal flew over the battlefield in flames. She realized that someone was on top of this huge eagle with a strange green color. The person standing on the eagle had the silhouette of a black cat. It was a girl, with a long black braid, with very green cat eyes. There was someone else beside her, but she couldn't make out the face, only part of the clothes was red and black.

— **By Azarath!**

The green eagle divided into several small miniature eagles, which destroyed all the evil butterflies. A great green light lit up the girl.

In her place was another young girl, still with black, slightly bluish hair and beautiful blue eyes.

The girl smiled at him.

— Mother.

Rachel woke up with a gasp.

The same dream again.

The young lady caressed her belly gently. She closed her eyes. She could feel the baby moving in her belly.

**Her precious baby.**

She could hear her father's sinister laughter.

— **_I can feel it... This child will be more powerful than you. I look forward to meeting him. He will be my work of art._**

Her father screamed that he would use the child as a vessel. That this child would be perfect, he had the soul of destruction in him.

Rachel chose not to say anything.

Silent tears streamed from her cheeks.

Her baby, her precious child was not even born yet, that he already had to bear the weight of humanity on his tiny little shoulder.

**This child had a great destiny. **

No wonder when you realize that the father of this little treasure was none other than the grandson of Ra's Al Ghul. Also the son of Batman, and now Robin... As if it wasn't enough to have a father with such a pedigree, she was the daughter of Trigon.

**That's why Rachel chose to run away. **

Maybe if this baby grew up away from both parents, it would have a better chance of survival. Maybe her baby would have a normal life, away from the madness of her father's family and the violence of her own family.

All she wanted was for her precious baby to have a happy, normal life away from danger.

She wiped her eyes with one hand.

_Don't worry, my precious, Mommy will protect you._

**Five and a half years later.**

The Titan alarm was sounding throughout the building. That meant there was an intruder in their headquarters.

Rachel, who was meditating in her room, rushed out of it to join her companions.

As she made her way to the assembly point, the alarm went off.

Was it a false alarm?

— Raven! You're here, you've got to come with me!

— Jaime? What's going on?

The young man ran his hand through his hair nervously. Rachel could sense that he was extremely uncomfortable. This aroused her curiosity.

— I think it's best if you go see for yourself.

She followed him to the break room. All the Teen Titans were present and forming a crowd around something she couldn't identify.

Rachel could feel all the emotions of the people around her. Most of them were in a state of total shock. But one person in particular seemed to be trying to contain his anger.

That person was Nightwing.

Why was that?

When she entered the room, all eyes fell on her. Nightwing in particular, glanced at her.

She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

_What was wrong with him?_

**That was the moment she saw her. **

Sitting comfortably on the couch, her little legs were swinging in the air. There was a little girl, who looked just like her. Her hair was black blue, her eyes glistening blue. She wore a little black ruffled skirt, with a little grey T-shirt. She also had a black cape, strictly identical to hers.

One thing particularly marked her. She could feel that the little girl was clearly annoyed to be the center of attention, although her little face did not reflect any emotion.

As always, she had the same expression as Damian.

Rachel suddenly became pale. Her blood froze completely.

Why was her child here?

WHY WAS SHE HERE?

She had done everything she could to keep her as far away from this life as possible! Why was her little girl in the Tower of Titans?!

— I'm sorry, mother. I shouldn't have come here. But I didn't know how else to approach you.

And unfortunately, she had inherited **_her father's "lovely disposition"_**.

_Oh dear... She's increasingly expressing herself like Damian..._

The girl approached her.

Rachel was clearly in shock. Even so, she couldn't help but smile slightly.

She hadn't been in contact with the girl for a few days because of a mission that had lasted a little longer than expected. The young mother was happy to see her little girl again. She looked fit and healthy.

— May I speak to you alone for a moment?

— …

Alas, the others did not seem to think so. Nightwing in particular was strongly opposed to the idea and wanted some explanations.

However, her daughter had other plans. Annoyed at being constantly interrupted. She decided to intervene.

— **TT.** Sir, can you wait your turn? I need to talk to mother immediately.

Rachel remained silent.

Nightwing, on the other hand, turned pale.

The others present opened their eyes.

The girl looked at them with a haughty look.

— Your presence is not required. _Servants_ look after them.

— What the- ARGH!

The girl had just snapped her fingers, and immediately everyone in the room except Rachel was dragged out of the room by... unknown forces. Several tried to resist, but nothing helped, everyone was kicked out. Rachel could sense several presences but was unable to identify their identities.

_Could they be ghosts? But how?! She called them "servants"?!_

— Mother, please forgive my insolence. I wish we'd met under different circumstances.

— Marinette, what are you doing here? Since when can you control spirits?

— I've always been able to talk to wandering souls. I recently learned that I could also give them orders. But that's not the point. The family that took me in was decimated.

— I see... who did this?

Rachel knew the extent of her daughter's abilities, so she had no doubt the girl got away with it. What she didn't want to know was _the condition_ of her daughter's attackers.

Marinette could be particularly **_cruel_**...

Unlike her mother, the little girl was terribly lacking in empathy. Marinette _only_ cared about people she liked or valued. If someone Marinette did not know or sympathize with, hurt themselves in front of her, not only would the little girl not do anything, but there was a good chance she would "help" them _to put them out of their misery_.

— An organization called the League of Shadows. At least, that's what I could read in their minds.

— …

— Mother, allow me to find Father... He's in danger.

— Marinette, I don't know where your father is. And even if I did, he's perfectly capable of protecting himself.

— …

Rachel sighed.

Her child was **extremely stubborn**.

If she had gotten it into her head to find her father, then she would do it, with or without her mother's consent.

— All right, then.

Rachel took her daughter to her room with her and handed her birth certificate. Knowing Damian, he wouldn't believe Marinette without proof.

— Marinette, I haven't seen your father in several years. I don't know how he'll take you in. He'll welcome you with open arms, or he'll welcome you with a big wave of violence.

— I understand that.

— The best thing is you don't tell him we know each other.

— …

— Marinette, I know you don't like lies. But it's the best solution right now. I want to protect you.

— It sounds to me like you're trying to protect yourself, mother.

— …

— If that is your request then I will comply. But let me tell you that this is highly likely to backfire.

— I will take the consequences.

— …

Marinette looked at her for a moment, then rolled her eyes.

— Do you want me to erase the memories of those present?

— Yes, that would be preferable.

— Very well.

Rachel ran her hand through her daughter's hair, then kissed her forehead.

Marinette smiled.

**BACK TO THE PRESENT**

Bruce woke up in a very bad mood.

Today was supposed to be Damian's birthday. He would have been 22.

If he hadn't been so stupid, his son would be at the manor with him. He would have given him a present. He would have wished him a happy birthday.

Bruce gritted his teeth so he wouldn't scream in frustration.

For seven years now, Bruce had been looking for his son.

**Seven long, hard years. **

That night, the night he disappeared, he was in a particularly bad mood. He was extremely worried about Dick. His eldest son had lost his memory and refused to communicate with them. His relationship with Tim had become extremely cold. He hadn't heard from Jason for almost a full month. Cass didn't want to come back to the Manor and had chosen to stay in Hong Kong. Selina was distant with him.

The Dark Knight believed his son had eliminated a criminal. He blamed him, punished him, and didn't listen to his explanations. The facts spoke for themselves. He saw his son with a sword in his hand and a dead body at his feet.

He had simply drained his nerves on his son. He needed a scapegoat, and unfortunately, Damian was the victim.

A simple check of Robin's patrol tape had made him realize that he had made a mistake.

**He'd been so stupid. **

He initially thought Damian had gone to join his girlfriend. He did it pretty regularly after one of their fights.

— I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne, but Damian and I aren't together anymore. I haven't seen him since we broke up.

** _AH._ **

He tried to talk to Jon.

— I'm sorry Mr. Wayne... but Damian and I haven't been talking long enough now...

He took a chance with Maya.

— Damian and I aren't talking anymore. I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne.

That was strange.

Why wasn't Damian talking to any of his friends?

He ended up talking to everyone else in the family.

**No one had seen him. **

He even asked "Ric". Ric told him that he hadn't seen Damian.

There was only one person left on his list. Bruce hoped with all his heart that his son hadn't been foolish enough to go back to her.

But alas...

— Beloved, I haven't seen Damian in years.

What was just a week turned into weeks, then months.

Bruce searched desperately for his son.

**He was nowhere to be found.**

After four months without any news, Barbara began to help him with his search.

After six months, Tim and Jason joined the search.

At the end of eight months, all the old friends of Damian started to look for him, Cass returned to Gotham. Bruce had to bring himself to inform Talia. She was simply furious.

After ten months, the entire community of heroes began actively searching for him.

After a year, Dick regained his memory... When he learned that Damian had been missing for a year, he asked Bruce for an explanation.

When he understood what had happened, the two men had a violent argument, which ended in physical aggression.

Dick suggested that Zatanna or Constantine be called in.

**It was a failure. **

To everyone's surprise, neither could locate Damian's whereabouts.

John told them Damian was probably dead.

Zatanna preferred not to comment.

**Bruce refused to believe it.**

A new year passed, then a third year. Time ran out... and Bruce couldn't find his son.

He had fallen into a deep depression.

He felt terribly guilty for being so unfair to his son. Bruce would deny himself any joy. He couldn't taste anything anymore. He lived his life like an automaton. The only thing that kept him going was the presence of his other children.

Damian's disappearance had had a positive effect: the family was back together as a whole. Well, almost the whole family was reunited, since his _baby_ was gone.

Bruce lit a candle next to his son's picture, as he did every year from then on. He felt so stupid. He was rarely present at Damian's birthdays. Now he deeply regretted it. If he hadn't been so careless, maybe his child would still be here...

**Alone, in the darkness of his room, the man let a few tears fall.**

Bruce dragged himself to the kitchen to have breakfast.

Alfred served his breakfast in silence.

-XxxX-

It was a particularly sad morning at Wayne Manor.

Alfred was taking care of his various household chores, while his master Bruce had gone back to his room.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang in the lobby. This meant that there was someone waiting outside the portal of Wayne's house.

Strange.

As a rule, everyone avoided the mansion like the plague on the anniversary of...

Alfred sighed.

The old butler answered the intercom.

— Wayne residence, what can I do for you?

— Hello, Pennyworth. I hope I'm not dropping by at an inconvenient hour.

Alfred frowned. He didn't recognize the voice of the person speaking on the intercom. He decided to take a look at the security camera.

His heart missed a beat.

— M-Master... Damian?

— May I come in?

— Absolutely, sir.

The butler thought he was hallucinating. He rushed to the entrance to open the door. He then saw a young man walking quietly to the entrance of the mansion.

He was tall, elegantly dressed.

And above all...

At his side, a small figure was following him very closely.

**It was a little girl. **

The butler's heart quickened.

Master Damian was clearly back, and he was not alone.

**He had returned with a little girl.**

-XxxX-

Bruce came out of his room irritated.

He had heard the doorbell ring. He was sure and certain that Alfred had let the person in.

As he got closer, he heard voices.

— You must be Pennyworth; I've heard so much about you. It's an honor to meet you, sir.

— At your service, Miss Marinette.

When Bruce finally arrived at the lobby...

He froze.

The young man in the lobby noticed him almost immediately and stared at him.

Their eyes met.

Before Bruce could say anything, another voice caught his attention.

— You must be my grandfather.

Bruce lowered his head.

A little girl with black hair and blue eyes, _painfully familiar_.

— Don't look so stunned Grand-Father. I thought you'll be taller.

Bruce widened his eyes.

_That sentence..._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

**Wait, What?**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

Did that child just call him **Grand-Father**?!

He raised his head to his son.

**Damian facepalmed.**


	13. Chap 13: Daddy Dick

**Chapter 13: Innocence**

Dick had a serious question.

Had he adopted _a_ _little girl_ or **_a little monkey_**?

Marinette was now four and a half, almost five. And she couldn't hold still.

He had had the good idea to teach her some acrobatics, and now little Mari had decided to test her limits on every possible surface in the house. (There were even handprints on the ceiling... THE CEILING! How did she manage to do that?!)

Damn, the little girl was a real battery! She would **NEVER **stop!

She was enrolled in gymnastics, ballet and even started judo classes. And that wasn't enough to tire her out.

Boy, what a talkative kid she was...

She was always talking, always asking a thousand and one questions, some of them particularly twisted!

— Papa, if the water has no color, why are we drawing it blue?

— Uh... Because the color of the sky is reflected in the water.

— Ooooh... Can we change the color of the sky then? It would look prettier in pink!

— Well...

Or else.

— Why is the green man at the light when we cross the street naked?

— He's not "naked" darling, he's dressed in green, but since his skin is green, you can't see it…

— OOOOOOH! But why are there only misters? Where are the ladies?

— …

Another one:

— Can we move the sun?

— No, Sunflower, the sun is a star.

Marinette looked at him for a moment, pensively.

— How does the sun cling to the sky without falling?

— It's gravity, honey...

— It's what?

— ….. *has a deep desire to scream*

And one question in particular that made Bruce spit out his coffee:

— What's the point of keeping money if when you die you can't use it? Are there banks in the afterlife?

— It's… In order to leave something for the people left behind...

— It's up to the dead man to pay the bills?! But... how do poor people do it?!

— ….. * honestly doesn't know what to say*

Jason was always the man for the job.

— Poor people have debts, Mari.

Once the concept of "debt" was explained, Marinette was so outraged that she spent _the rest of the evening_ **crying** "for the poor" because "it was too _unfair_".

**The subject "economy" was now forbidden at the table.**

And those questions that reminded him that Marinette was no fool...

— But why does Mari have to sleep?!

— To rest, Marinette.

— But you never sleep!

— Of course I do...

— **NO!** You only sleep every two or three days! Why do **I** have to sleep every day?! **IT'S NOT FAIR!**

— …

_God, please, help me..._

Or... those times Marinette disrespected people without realizing it. Dick seriously wanted to dig a hole and bury himself alive...

— But why do you have to go to work?

— To get money and buy toys for you.

— But Papa, you already have money...

— Yes, but money ends Sunshine, you always have to win back money.

— But why don't you send someone to work for you? Grandpa, he gives all his work to Alfred!

— …

Bruce froze, stunned.

Jason's laughter echoed throughout the mansion.

Alfred cleared his throat (Dick would later learn that the man had to hide to laugh quietly).

Dick was simply petrified.

_OMG, my kid just clashes Bruce fuc**** Wayne. Please, someone, KILL ME._

Dick began to wonder if he hadn't become a masochist. Or had he always been? After all, he had chosen to be a vigilante.

Sometimes he felt like going out of the window when he saw the extent of the foolishness Marinette sometimes did in the apartment.

Once, she had fun pouring all the soaps in the house into the bathtub and then putting water in it... Result? There was so much foam in the bathroom that it caused water damage...

She had already played with his shaving cream. Except... she put it on muffins thinking it was whipped cream. Dick could now testify, that "shaving cream" muffins were disgusting.

The walls of the apartment had become art galleries because Marinette had had fun drawing on all the walls of the apartment.

She also had fun waxing the floor, pouring the entire product on the floor. The whole living room had become so slippery that it was impossible to move around without falling (and Marinette had fun sliding... Now Dick had to hide the product in a cupboard locked with a padlock, otherwise she would take the wax to play with it).

He had already been called to kindergarten by the headmistress, because Marinette had had fun climbing to the top of a tree to retrieve a ball that had got stuck there. But, as it was too high up, she ended up getting stuck. They had to call the fire department to free her. (He was still being teased by his colleagues because of this story...)

In other words, Dick had discovered that there were ladders of patience.

Oh, God... Amy was right, he clearly wasn't ready to live with a child!

He must have been a masochist: Dick could be angry, all she had to do was look at him with sad little kitten eyes and he would forgive her absolutely everything.

And yet... Everyone could not help but have a real soft spot for Marinette.

It was the "Grayson" charm, probably?

Marinette was almost like a little mascot for the Titans. He still remembered that time he took Marinette to the Tower of Titans for the first time. When Marinette saw Garfield, her little eyes lit up. Dick could swear stars were coming out of her eyes.

— I like you're color! How did you do it?

— Uh... it's my natural color.

— Oh? I wish I was green too!

— ...Do you? Why would you want to be green?

— Green is the color of peace!

Garfield frowned, intrigued by the girl's response.

—….. The colour of peace?...

— Yes! Like _Green Peace_!

— …

Dick saw how Garfield's face changed to a tender smile. He patted Marinette's head gently.

— You are truly unique...

She's smiling at him.

**It was over. **

Garfield had succumbed to her charm.

Dick made a mental note to explain to Marinette what "Green Peace" really meant. But this strange exchange with Garfield had made the Titans adopt her unanimously.

They had a special chat room that was dedicated to the baby girl, where Dick posted all the nonsense that Marinette had done since he'd picked her up, but not only that. He also posted the "strange" questions of the day. He had also filmed some cute moments. Like when she had tried a trapeze for the first time.

— Look daddy! I'm a _flying Grayson_!

**Yes, he had cried. **

It wasn't his fault!

She was just so cute!

-XxxX-

Jason liked to watch Marinette make the adults around them go crazy.

Bruce, the great Batman, was being a complete idiot in front of this little girl. She was leading him on! The worst part? The little girl didn't realize her "power of manipulation"!

The little brunette had a secret weapon. **TWO WORDS** that made the whole world bend to her will: "Please" and 'Grandpa" in the same sentence.

— Mari wants to listen "Baby Shark".

— Sweetheart, you've already heard this song yesterday, seventeen times in a row, don't you want to listen to something else?

— No, want this song!

— Mmmm.

— _Please Grandpa_...

All Marinette had to do was make her kitty-cat eyes.

Jason watched Bruce put Baby Shark back on his phone for the twenty-seventh time this weekend.

They had to endure this atrocity all weekend...

Whoever wrote this song would be cursed for twenty-seven generations to come!

**Kitten eyes still worked.**

**It was a magical power.**

Bruce, Dick and he would sometimes find themselves playing... "Tea party"... just to please the little girl.

Dick, who was used to this game, would fold in with a smile. He always took the opportunity to take a picture of Marinette (it was almost sickening for him, this obsession for pictures...). But for him and Bruce, it was a real TORTURE! The worst thing in the story was that Marinette had Alfred on her side! He would make her tea and cookies in advance so she could play with them... (And he would look at them with a little smile on his face. THE TRAITOR).

The great Batman, drinking tea from a tiny little pink flowered cup, tasting little cakes in the shape of animals... (Dick was having a lot of fun and always took a clever pleasure in taking pictures of them...)

Sometimes Bruce would end up with rabbit-shaped bars on his head, sometimes it was a headband with rabbit ears. (Marinette had a real problem with rabbits. Dick was considering giving her one. Jason wasn't sure it was a good idea to comfort this little girl in her delirium with rabbits).

**Jason loved her very much.**

He was an only child, so it was weird for him to have the role of "big brother". He could teach her things; she was a good student. And she imitated him a lot. Which could be extremely cute.

For example, for Halloween, she had decided to dress up as Robin (Bruce and Dick would never admit it, but Jason knew very well that they were jealous!). Because she wanted to "be as cool as Jay".

He hadn't been able to prevent this feeling of pride from invading him. He was someone's role model.

But... it was also a BIG disadvantage. Jason soon realized he had to watch his language in front of her...

One day, when he was Marinette's daytime babysitter (yes, he and not Bruce, because Dick didn't trust Bruce to babysit Marinette at all), at the little girl's request, he was baking cookies flavor "M&Ms". He accidentally burned his fingertip when he took the cookies out of the oven.

— Holy sh**!

Marinette looked at him for a moment, intrigued, then, to his horror, repeated word for word the swear he had just left.

— Holy sh**!

Jason made big eyes and told Marinette not to repeat those words. (She did it... He'll get the sermon of the century from Alfred and later from Dick...)

— Papa, I learned a new word!

— Oh?

She looked at her father with a huge smile, waving her little arms, excited.

— Holy sh**!

Dick widened his eyes. Alfred froze for a moment. Bruce immediately frowned.

The eyes of all the adults turned to Jason. He swallowed nervously.

**Oops. **


	14. Chap 14: Daddy Jay

**Daddy Jay.**

Jason had recently moved out.

He now lived closer to Metropolis University. ...so Jason had less of a commute to school. Another advantage of this neighborhood was that there was a daycare center across the street from his building, where he could enroll his precious little Pixie. In addition, there was a school a stone's throw from his building. As soon as Marinette was old enough, he could enroll her without any problem.

His new apartment was about the same size as his previous one. Unfortunately, because of the location, the rent was a little more expensive. So he had to take a second job to pay for his studies, Marinette's daycare and the rent... Not to mention other necessary daily expenses such as food, electricity...

It wasn't always easy and he would sometimes skip meals to save a little money. He kept the meals that Alfred sent him every day and gave them to Marinette instead. This baby was a real little ogre.

**There was no way his baby would be deprived of anything. **

So he tightened his belt for her.

Bruce had tried to convince him to at least let him pay his tuition, but he had refused.

He'd raise Marinette on his own.

He'll succeed in school on his own.

And he'll protect her on his own.

Jason had always been alone. He had died alone. So he will get through this alone!

There were only two people who had the "right" to help him.

First Alfred. The butler came to Metropolis regularly to watch Marinette. This helped Jason enormously, as he didn't have to pay for daycare every day.

And finally, Dr. Leslie. She was the only person Jason would allow to check on Marinette.

As far as the others were concerned...

Jason _tolerated them_ in his home, but_ he didn't trust them_.

If there was one value Jason wanted to pass on to his daughter, it was **independence**. But that wasn't all. He wanted her to learn **perseverance**. The courage to move forward despite the odds. Jason wanted his daughter to be **proud of herself**. And most of all, that she would _never let anyone tell her fate. _

So he would endure.

**For her. **

Because now his life was just _for her_.

-XxxX-

It was the weekend; Jason was giving Marinette lunch.

At least, he was trying to give it to her.

— Marinette, eat.

— No!

— Pixie... you have to eat to grow up big and strong like daddy...

— Dada too!

— Uh?

— Dada eat.

— Daddy will eat later sweetie...

— NO!

He finally surrenders and puts a piece of potato in his mouth.

— There, Daddy's eaten, now it's your turn.

— No. Eat!

— Marinette, that's enough. Eat what's on your plate!

Marinette looked him straight in the eye. She puffed up her cheeks, but still took her little fork (she was only one and a half years old, but she already knew how to eat perfectly well on her own).

The little girl ate a small piece of meat. Jason thought that she had finally finished her whim...

And yet...

— Dada, eat!

She handed him a small piece of meat with her little fork.

Jason was seriously starting to lose his patience.

— Marinette, I'm really going to get angry. Eat your plate.

— Dada too!

— I already told you I'll eat later.

— LIE! BAD DADA!

— …

Jason looked up at his daughter with an eyebrow raised. What was wrong with her today?

— Pixie, you-

— NO! Dada eat-eat too! Pi-Pi eat with Dada!

— You want... Me to eat with you?

— Yes. Dada eat.

Jason couldn't help but sigh at his daughter's stubbornness. He surrendered and made himself a plate. Marinette finally agreed to eat.

From that day on, Marinette behaved more and more strangely.

First of all, she categorically refused to eat until he made a plate for him and ate at least three portions _in front of her_.

Then, she started refusing to go to clothing or toy stores, throwing tantrums. She would furiously throw away any new toys that had the misfortune of appearing in the house (including those brought back by Bruce and Dick). Marinette only played with toys that were already in the house.

She didn't want any more toys.

However, she now had an obsession with cash.

— Well... Don't you like stuffed animals anymore, little Mari ?

— No.

— Uncle Ric can buy you another one if you want.

— NO!

— Okay sweetheart, don't get angry... Do you want something else then? A doll?

— No.

— No doll then... Is there anything you'd like?

— Yes.

— Oh? What is it?

— Money.

— ... What ?

— Pi-Pi want money.

Jason was able to see the stunned look clearly visible on Dick's face. Dick turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

— Don't look at me like that, I don't know what's gotten into her either. You should have seen Bruce's face when she asked him for money yesterday...

-XxxX-

Several days later, while Jason was taking Marinette to the daycare as usual, he heard a few mothers complaining to the director that several of their child's things were missing. Jason frowned, but he didn't have time to worry about that detail. He was going to be late for his first job.

Then in the evening, while he was preparing Marinette's dinner, he heard a strange noise. Like rubbing. Looking around the living room, Jason realized that Marinette wasn't where she should be anymore. He figured she must be looking around somewhere again, so he quietly went looking for her.

He found her in her bedroom.

— Pixie, what are you doing here alone?

— Pi-Pi cleaning money.

— Cleaning... what?

Jason then got closer to Marinette. He thought his jaw was about to drop.

On the floor was a shoe box with all sorts of things in it. Watches, bracelets, money, wallets...

The discussion he had heard in the morning came back to his mind.

His blood froze.

Marinette had stolen...

**His daughter was a thief...**

He took the box in his hand and examined its contents more closely. Marinette stared at him, as if she was waiting to see his reaction.

How the hell did she find all this out?!

**She was only a year and a half old! **

How had she managed to steal THAT MUCH without anyone noticing?!

And more importantly... WHY?!

Why did she do that? He had never taught her to do such a thing!

Jason stooped down to match the little girl's height.

— Marinette. Why did you do that?

— For Dada.

— What?! I never-

— Dada need money. Pi-pi give money to Dada! So Dada can eat-eat with Pi-Pi! Pi-Pi want Dada happy too!

— …

Jason looked at his daughter in amazement.

He just had a realization.

He used to do _exactly the same thing_ when he was younger. The number of times he had stolen to try to get some money to bring food for both himself and his mother.

Marinette wanted to help him...

_She was worried about him. _

Marinette was staring at him. Then she walked slowly towards him, put her little hand on his head and patted gently.

— Pi-Pi will protect Dada.

These simple words coming out of an innocent baby's mouth had the effect of a stab in the heart.

Jason took her in his arms and let tears flow.

— Dada?

— I love you... I love you so much...

— Pi-Pi too!

After finally regaining control of his emotions, Jason finally takes a decision.

This time... he would put his pride aside.

Jason called Bruce.

**A few days later.**

**Metropolis, 10:30 am, Toy Store. **

— Marinette... Sweetheart, why don't you take this cute little doll? Look how pretty she is...

— NO!

— Hmmmm... And that rabbit-shaped stuffed animal? That's a cute rabbit...

— NOOOOOO!

Jason was seriously gloating.

He had been watching Bruce try to make Marinette change her mind about the plush she had just chosen for thirty minutes.

The reason?

It was a **Green Lantern plush**.

To Jason's amusement, and Bruce's dismay, Marinette's favorite hero was Green Lantern, aka Hal Jordan. Marinette hated all existing heroes (even Superman and Wonder Woman... Jason was unable to explain the girl's "hatred"), EXCEPT Lantern.

_Batman_ in particular **terrified her.**

The poor little girl cried whenever anyone had the misfortune to show her a picture of a bat. Dick had tried with Nightwing, but Marinette threw the doll furiously in his face (the poor guy was depressed for a while, Jason almost felt sorry for him). Marinette hated all the members of the Bat-family (No he had nothing to do with it, he had never mentioned them in front of her!). But curiously, loved their civil alter ego.

It must have been genetic...

Jason had a serious stomachache; he was laughing so hard about it.

Marinette had her little cheeks swollen and was staring angrily at Bruce.

— Want Green!

— Come on Marinette, be nice... There are _plenty of toys_... more... **_suitable_** than **_this one_**...

Marinette squeezed her Green Lantern teddy in her little arms, while she looked at Bruce.

— MINE!

Jason decided it was time to stop the carnage.

— Come on Pixie, let's go buy your toy, Grandpa decided to be very mean today...

— Bad Grampa!

Marinette stuck her tongue out at Bruce, then ran to him. Jason took her in his arms and looked at Bruce with a huge smirk on his face.

After this misadventure, Marinette decided to ignore Bruce for the rest of the day, for Bruce's greatest sadness (and for Jason's greatest fun).


	15. Chap 15: Daddy Tim

I'm sorry for the wait, I'm really busy at the moment, with the preparation of my Master's degree...  
My stories will be published with less regularity than before.

* * *

**Chapter: Innoncence (Tim)**

Tim had returned from overseas after two years away from home. He no longer lived at the Manor, but in a private residence in one of Gotham's most luxurious neighborhoods.

Tim was no longer in the field. But he had very clearly taken over Barbara's role as _Oracle_. The young woman had returned to the field as _Batgirl_. Stephanie was back as _Spoiler_, while Cassandra took the name _Orphan_.

The young man had changed enormously.

He was clearly more distant from everyone. His relationship with the rest of the family was limited to the strictly "professional" area. Outside of the masks, they rarely talked.

And there was Marinette.

The little one had become a little lady. She took part in _Tea Parties_, wore only high fashion clothes, and learned the etiquette of high society. Marinette had even become a little ambassador. Several magazines for young mothers had taken Marinette's style as a reference for little girls.

The baby girl had become an influential figure. In addition, little Marinette was very intelligent. She had succeeded in entering a very selective program that trained children in law, management and economics. At the end of the program, these "chosen ones" had the equivalent of a bachelor's degree at the age of 15.

**But Marinette was exceptional. **

At just 6 and a half years old, she had already skipped two classes. That made her one of the youngest graduates in history, since she would finish the program at 13 and a half years old. So despite that very young age, Tim had let her manage some contracts and even some projects for WE.

Tim knew exactly how to use his daughter's image to attract more clients.

Bruce would probably be proud of that, if he didn't know that kid was a _little witch_. He was certain that she was behind the "song theme" sent to the JL. He also blamed her for Tim's distancing. Marinette was clearly using Tim's affection for her to isolate him from himself and the family.

And that little witch had done something to Damian.

Bruce knew that Marinette and Damian didn't like each other at all. But lately he had noticed that the two of them had been spending more time _together_.

It all started one day when Tim came to visit Alfred with Marinette. That day, he saw Marinette discreetly leave the kitchen. He decided to follow her. To his surprise, she joined Damian in one of the uninhabited wings of the manor. She showed him something on her cell phone.

— So?

— TT. I don't really have a choice. I'll send you what you need by the end of the week.

— Perfect.

— Hmm.

— While you're here, I have someone to recommend for _the project_ you mentioned... I think it would match your expectations.

— Already?

— Yep. His name is Max Kanté. I e-mailed you his file.

— I'll look at it later.

They greeted each other _cordially_, then Marinette went back to her father in the kitchen, while Damian retired to his room.

Bruce had followed the exchange silently. Several questions crossed his mind. He decided to investigate.

He discovered that the famous "Max Kanté" was a young scientist with whom Tim traded fairly regularly. What was surprising, however, was that this young man worked for _Lex Luthor_.

Bruce also realized that Marinette seemed to be harassing Damian. He found several incriminating e-mails:

"I have something I think you might be interested in. Meet me after your class."

"If you tell anyone about this, I'll make you pay for it."

"The price has changed. Gotham Academy appointment."

The more he read, the angrier he got. Damian hadn't responded to any emails. Would Marinette seek revenge on Damian for the incident that had happened two years ago?

He was going to have to talk with Tim.

-XxxX-

Tim was quietly enjoying a cup of coffee on the couch in his giant living room. He was dressed in an old Star Wars T-shirt and jogging pants. It was the weekend, and he was enjoying a quiet moment before he had to turn on his computer to work.

Marinette was at her friend Felix Graham de Vanily's house.

They had met on their trip to England. He was the son of a famous movie producer and some Hollywood actress. Like Marinette, this boy was part of the special education program for "talented" children (even though it was more for children of _affluent_ people, but Tim preferred to keep his thoughts to himself).

He remembered that Marinette had mentioned that she was going to meet Felix's cousin, a certain Adrien Agreste.

— He is the son of the stylist Gabriel Agreste. If I play my cards right, we could develop a partnership with him! The Agreste brand is for the moment mainly a European brand, Félix told me that his uncle wants to develop in the United States as well.

— I see.

— I also heard that the daugther of this guy that you are going to meet next week, for this contract in Spain, is a fan of the Agreste brand... It would be nice if you wear Agreste clothes for your meeting.

— Hmm. It's a good idea. Don't overdo it, okay, _Peanuts_?

— I won't. Now shall we watch another episode of _The Walking Dead_? We were in the middle of season three.

It was weird for Tim to be all alone. He was now used to always having a presence by his side, eating fast food and other snacks with him while watching movies on Netflix for hours. Or they would play video games.

Marinette was a formidable opponent.

He wanted to watch a series by himself, but if he had the misfortune to watch one without Marinette, she would sulk at him until the end of next week.

And a _pouting_ Marinette was a Marinette who will do _something stupid_.

Many thought they were both honorable members of high society. This was the image that Marinette and he had built up over the years.

The truth?

**They were both huge geeks.**

Marinette was neither graceful nor elegant nor mannish.

She loved to steal his Star-Wars or Star Trek T-shirts, which she wore with huge mismatched socks, she made burping contests with him (yes, it wasn't elegant, so what? They were having all the fun in the world!), she spent her life eating candy and sweets with him.

Marinette loved coffee. Sometimes they had fun mixing it with other energy drinks.

They always ordered food from Uber Eats, Deliveroo. (They even knew the names of the deliverers)

The house was only tidied up when they had visitors (which was almost never).

In short, Tim did not have a healthy lifestyle at all and didn't give a damn. He enjoyed life like this, and he was more than happy to share his passions for science fiction movies, comic books and video games with his beloved daughter.

What was his surprise when he heard the doorbell ringing in his house, and even more surprised when he realized that **Bruce was standing outside his house**.

-XxxX-

Damian just had a particularly bad day. He hated going to middle school more than anything else. People were particularly stupid and thought they were superior just because their parents had money.

**Just pathetic.** (His father was far superior to all those morons).

The only thing that cheered him up was knowing that it was his turn to take care of _Alya_. It was a baby red fox that Marinette found wounded in her backyard. Knowing that her father was not a big fan of animals, she had secretly brought the fox back to him.

Since then, the two had agreed to take turns taking care of the fox.

They were far from being friends. However, they had learned to put their differences aside for the sake of little Alya.

Damian had to admit, he had eventually found his _niece_... **tolerable**.

On his way back to the manor, he heard a loud crash. Damian, intrigued, approached. Pennyworth, who had gone to pick him up, followed him.

— Seriously?! Me? Harassing Damian?!

Damian stopped dead in his tracks.

What the hell was that all about?

— I never said you harassed him Marinette, I just want to understand what's going on between you two. Bruce has-

— Yes, I'm claiming that you harassed Damian.

— Bruce-

— And I want it to **stop now**. I will not tolerate _this kind of behavior_.

— I DIDN'T HARASS DAMIAN, **YOU OLD BAST*****!

Drake started raising his voice at his father, telling him that if Marinette said she didn't do it, then it was true. His father, on the other hand, didn't believe her at all, and said that Drake had to stop covering up her "foolishness".

The teenager was so surprised that he didn't move for a few seconds. Then when he heard his father and Drake start arguing because Bruce wanted to send Marinette to a _military school_ in _Switzerland_ to teach her "_discipline_", the teenager entered the room. Pennyworth chose to stand on the doorstep.

He saw that Marinette was visibly on the verge of tears.

It was true, they were not friends. However, he too had been falsely accused by his _own father_ and knew the feeling of injustice.

The two "adults" in the room turned to him at the same time. He ignored them completely and walked towards Marinette.

And to everyone's surprise, Damian took her hand. She looked at him surprised for a moment but did not try to push him away. Still ignoring the two "adults" in the room, he addressed her directly.

— What's going on?

— Bruce found the messages I sent you about _you know what_, and he thinks I'm _blackmailing_ you.

Damian raised an eyebrow.

— Blackmailing me?

— That's what I've been trying to tell them all along! If I wanted revenge, I never would have used a method that-

— _Cheap_. Yes, I can tell. And knowing you, you wouldn't have gotten caught either.

— Hm. Of course I wouldn't.

Damian nodded.

He then turned to the other two people in the room, who were looking at them strangely.

— Father, there's a mistake, Marinette never try to blackmail me.

He then looked at Marinette, who nodded, to signify her agreement to share their "secret".

— Two weeks ago, _Drake_ found a wounded baby fox in her garden.

— I know that Father doesn't want animals in the house, so since I didn't want to leave her alone, I decided to call Damian, who knows about animals.

— I gave Drake instructions on how to feed and care for the baby fox, while I found a place for her to stay.

— And all in exchange of a service.

— She's now in a foster home not far from Marinette's school.

— We agreed to take turns visiting her.

Drake (the father), nodded, accepting the explanation. It was clear to Damian that Drake (the father) had never doubted his daughter for a second. His father, on the other hand, seemed clearly skeptical.

Did he think he was just trying to protect Drake (the daughter)? **_Him_**?

Damian admitted that he'd been a _real jerk_ to the girl. But since those two years, Karma had paid him a little visit. Damian had realized that his behavior could have serious consequences.

**He had to be expelled from the Teen Titans to understand that.  
**

-XxxX-

This incident had the effect of pushing Tim further away from the family.

More importantly, **Bruce didn't apologize**.

Tim didn't spend any more time at the manor at all.

Tim watched Marinette play in the garden with Alya the fox (he had let Marinette keep her), while he reflected on the events of the past few days.

For once, everyone seemed to be "on his side" after hearing the whole story (Alfred told them, because he ignored everyone).

They collectively decided to boycott the Manor.

_The good joke... As if anyone really cared.  
_

Bruce finally decided to apologize to Marinette.

Marinette accepted the apology, and quickly moved on.

Tim, on the other hand, was having a harder time dealing with the whole thing. He had a lot of accumulated resentment (and not just against Bruce).

**A month later.**

— Hmm... _Daddy_... your phone is still ringing.

— Let it ring.

Marinette looked at him for a moment, sighed, and then went to get the phone. He didn't hear the conversation and wasn't interested in it at all. Tim went to his office to work.

**He didn't want to see anyone. **

Tim didn't know how long it had been, but when he saw that it was dark, he decided to go and make himself a cup of coffee.

To his surprise, when he got to the living room, where the kitchen was, he found his "_siblings_" all there.

He frowned.

However, before he could say anything, Marinette approached him.

She looked at him, with an unreadable gaze.

— Daddy, _I love you_... But I don't like you **using _me_ as an _excuse_ to _run away_ from your problems**.

— …

Tim didn't know what to say. **Because deep down he knew she was telling the truth**.

— So, now you're all going to _sit down_ and **_talk_** like **_real adults_** and finally act like **_a real family_**.

With those words, she left the room.

Tim would be lying if he said he didn't feel betrayed at that moment. However, this conversation was indeed necessary.

There were screams, angry outbursts and broken furniture, but they all ended up saying what was in their hearts.

Marinette eventually returned with a first aid kit in her hands. She glanced around the room, completely destroyed.

— You're fools.

That's all she said, before forcing everyone to disinfect their cuts (the "discussion" had really gotten louder). He was the last one to be treated.

As Marinette put a bandage on his cheek, she looked him in the eye for a moment.

— Are you mad at me?

Tim glanced into the kitchen where Jason was preparing something. Dick was picking up the debris on the floor with Cass helping him. Damian was outside petting Alya.

— My _wallet_ doesn't thank you.

Marinette smiled amused, then put a kiss on his cheek.

He smiled back at her and put his hand on her little head.

— I love you too… _Peanuts_.


	16. Chap 16: Daddy Damian

**Chapter Innocence: Daddy Damian**

Damian was back in his office.

Two months had passed since he had visited his father.

They kept in touch, mostly by e-mail. They were both far too busy to afford telephone conversations. (Rather, the truth was that they didn't know what to say to each other over the phone, so the written exchange was a more reassuring means of communication for them.)

Alfred, on the other hand, called him once a week.

That's how he learned that his father hadn't told anyone in the "family" yet. The main reason was that they might react badly to the news, but that he planned to do so at the next "family reunion," which would take place in a week's time.

Damian was not at all surprised. He remembered exactly what happened to Jason when he came back to life. Apparently, Damian was considered dead. He wasn't surprised. After all... he had effectively made sure that no one could find him, not even by using magic.

He watched as Marinette was preparing a bed for one of their patients, with Titus at her side.

Damian had been forced to take the dog with him when he learned that he had been crying all day after his visit. The dog had been so happy to see him, that he jumped on him and knocked him down. Titus then sniffed Marinette and spent the rest of the day following her.

Damian held his breath.

The time of peace he had had with Marinette seemed to be coming to an end. It was only a matter of time before the others arrived at his house, asking for "explanations" (that was the kind word for _reproach_) that he sincerely had **no desire to give**.

Alfred had vaguely implied to him that Dick had been most affected by his disappearance. The young vet had no trouble believing this. He was also not surprised that his older brother was _the only one_ really affected by his disappearance. He had already been surprised enough to learn that his father wanted to keep in touch with him and wanted to get to know his granddaughter.

Alfred had also told him that _the others_ had been affected by his absence. But he didn't believe him. They had no reason to be affected by his departure.

On the contrary, their lives must have become much quieter.

-XxxX-

Dick was a little nervous about coming back to the manor.

It was the day the whole family would gather for dinner. The dinner in question was once a month. He didn't like going back to the manor. The place was filled with memories... moments that would never return.

He'd heard from Tim that Bruce had been acting strange lately. Alfred seemed to know the reason, but he wouldn't talk.

Dick had a bad feeling. The feeling only grew worse when Barbara told him that Bruce had apparently given Titus away.

Bruce had been taking care of the dog as if it were the apple of his eye since Damian's disappearance. He was very worried when he learned that he had gotten rid of the dog.

As usual, he arrived at the Manor first, as usual...

One by one, his family members arrived.

As always, Jason was the last to arrive...

The evening was going well. However, nothing could have prepared him for the bomb Bruce dropped that night.

"I want to take this opportunity to announce something very important... I'm only telling you about it now, because I needed to check it out first."

Bruce took a deep breath. Everyone in the room waited with varying degrees of apprehension for what was to come next.

"Damian is alive. He stopped by the manor about two months ago."

A silence fell over the room. He was the first to react.

"What?"

"Damian's-"

"I GOT IT!"

"…"

Dick was still in shock. He had no intention of screaming. It was just... Damian had been missing for seven years now. According to Constantine and Zatanna (who later confessed to him), there was no trace of Damian. In other words, **his little brother was dead.**

Dick had been blaming himself for a long time.

If only he had been more careful...

If only he hadn't lost his memory...

If only he'd been a better brother...

There wasn't even a body. Damian was supposed to be dead, and no one knew what he died of... he must have died alone... without anyone.

And now Bruce tells him, the little brother he lost is alive?! Dick felt like he was reliving Jason's miraculous resurrection.

Tim spoke next. As always, he was the most rational of them all.

"Bruce, are you sure this is Damian and not a clone? Or someone impersonating him?"

"That's why I waited until today to talk about it. I ran all the tests. It's definitely Damian..."

"Why? If he's been alive all this time, why come back **now**?"

"That's the second thing I needed to talk to you about. Let's just say... _his situation has changed_."

"Bruce, you're beating around the bush. **Why?**"

Dick was silent during the exchange. He could clearly see the anger reflected in Tim's eyes.

Bruce sighed.

"Damian... has a daughter."

Dick couldn't help but widen his eyes. He wasn't the only one in shock. Tim had opened his mouth while opening his eyes wide.

Jason chose this opportune moment to "finally" make a point.

"So... To sum up, _Demon Spawn_ found a way to disappear from the face of the earth and used that opportunity to make a _Baby Demon_... So what? He's been looking for _a wife in hell_ the whole time?"

It was supposed to be **a joke**... But when Dick saw Bruce nodding his head, he knew the rest would be even more _weird._

"Well, sort of."

"...What?! ..."

"_Marinette_ is half human, part demon, part goddess."

"...Huh?!..."

Dick's brain only recorded two words that night:

\- Damian.

\- Baby.

**Four months later.**

Dick was in an airport. He had started by hugging his little brother tightly, not even giving him time to say anything. A "little brother" who now outgrew him. Then he turned his attention to the little figure beside him.

He was genuinely shocked when he saw her.

**This little girl was the perfect copy of Bruce**.

The only noticeable difference was her eyes. She had blue eyes, but they weren't the same color as Bruce's eyes. The more Dick stared at her, the more he felt that the little girl's eyes were familiar.

"What? You got something to say, say it. Stop staring at me with those fried whiting eyes."

"Oh... uh... sorry. I'm Richard Grayson. You can call me _Dick_."

"No, thank you."

"Habibiti, don't be rude."

"**TT**."

Dick couldn't help but laugh out loud. The girl looked at him with the most serious look in the world, raising an eyebrow.

Damian facepalmed.

_Yep, that's Damian's daughter._

-XxxX-

The meeting with the rest of the family took place in a tense atmosphere, only Jason was not present at that time. Damian was courteous. In other words, he spoke to them politely, as if they were strangers.

After all, after seven years of absence, this was probably what they had become to him.

Yet, to everyone's surprise, he apologized.

Tim was undoubtedly the angriest of all. However, Bruce could see how much Damian had changed.

Damian accepted Tim's anger, apologizing a second time. The tension between the two would probably take some time to ease, but Bruce was certain that the two had left on a new basis.

Cass gave him a monumental slap, then took him in her arms. Damian did not react to the slap, accepting the embrace of his sister.

Damian had matured.

"It's not that _I'm not interested_ in your _family drama_, but can we eat now? I'm starving."

The little girl looked at them all, clearly bored. Titus barked at her side.

And that is how the rest of the family got to know Marinette.

**Bruce and Damian facepalmed.**

-XxxX-

Jason will never forget _his first meeting_ with Damian's daughter. As soon as he walked through the door, his eyes fell on those of his "little" brother (the brat was taller than him!).

However, he was greeted by Bruce's _female clone_, a _miniature version_ by the way.

"You are the strangest _creature_ I have ever seen. You are both dead and alive. _It's fascinating_."

Jason honestly didn't know what to say.

He was staring at the kid.

But he could see how the girl's eyes lit up with interest. She turned to her father, who was quietly drinking a cup of tea. Completely unconcerned.

"Father, can I dissect _it_?"

"WHAT?!"

Jason was hallucinating, wasn't he?

Everyone at the table looked at the kid like she was completely insane. And Jason honestly wondered if the brat was crazy.

She was looking at Damian, and really _looking _for an answer from him.

"The day he died."

"Seriously?!"

"Mmmm. I see."

She turned to him, the most serious expression on her face. Jason couldn't help but think, she really looked like her father, with _that_ expression.

"Can you die, please? I need to take a closer look at your body."

Jason thought his jaw was about to come loose. He wasn't the only one who was genuinely shocked by what the girl had said.

Damian seemed completely imperturbable, as if he was used to this kind of crazy request.

"You can die yourself, _baby demon_."

"I am "_death_". What you're saying doesn't make any sense."

"... Huh? . . ."

"**I can program yours, though**."

The girl came out with a voice from beyond the grave. And her eyes suddenly turned green.

There was a silence in the room.

Before a slight puffing drew everyone's attention to Damian.

He had his hand in front of his mouth and was _desperately_ **trying to hold back his laughter**.

-XxxX-

When Dick entered the kitchen, he surprised Tim and Damian's daughter in the middle of a conversation.

"So you can see ghosts just like that?"

"It's just one of my _many_ skills."

Dick smiles.

She had inherited her father's "modest" side.

"Hmmm... I see... And what else can you do?"

"I can _take_ people's souls."

"…"

"You want to try?"

"I've got uh... Things to do, bye!"

Tim slipped out of the room, almost running.

The girl watched Tim leave, raising an eyebrow.

"Pussy."

Dick had heard the whole conversation and was curious.

"Marinette, can you really take people's souls?"

"Yes."

"Can you also communicate with ghosts?"

"Yes. Do you want to talk to someone?"

"No, uh, not really."

"Hmm. If you want, I can get you to meet your parents."

"W-What?! Really?!"

"Yes."

Marinette brought up a black paper with a funny symbol written in dark green.

"All you have to do is _sign_ this paper."

An alarm bell rang in his mind.

"Uh... what for?"

"So, actually, you-"

"MARINETTE!"

The girl gasped.

Damian had just entered the room. He looked at the sheet of paper, then looked at Dick. He swung his head from right to left. Then he turned to his daughter.

"How many times do I have to tell you? **Cursing people is _NOT_ a _hobby_**!"

The girl made the paper disappear.

"You're not funny, father. It's not my fault that everyone in this house are _innocent_..."

Dick felt a horrible shiver run through his whole body.

He avoided Marinette like the plague after this event.

And Damian facepalmed.

**Again.**

* * *

A/N:

\- Marinette is absolutely not "death", she's just mocking them! Damian knows it perfectly well. He is amazed (even exasperated) to see that his family believes her. xD

\- Marinette is not evil, however, she just has a completely twisted sense of humor.

\- When Marinette says that the members of the "bat-clan" are "innocent", she's actually calling them "dumb".


	17. Chap 17: Daddy Dick

**Chapter: Accident (Daddy Dick)**

Dick's days went by and were not the same.

Every day, Marinette would invent a new idea. Dick was now immune to her " kitten eyes ". Somehow, he felt like he could finally consider himself a parent.

He had found his rhythm.

Never in his life would Dick have thought his days would be so organized. Everything was scheduled down to the minute. He had even managed to include his activities as Nightwing.

Well... He had an average of four hours of sleep a day... That wasn't so bad, was it?

No.

Really, there were days when he was so tired that he found himself physically unable to go out on patrol... Bruce had already criticized him for being "lax". His answer was very simple: he challenged Bruce to take care of Marinette ALONE for a week. Bruce managed to hold out for 3 days. Strangely enough, since then, he didn't make any more remarks to him.

Taking care of a child was a full-time job, with no break time, and no " off " button to press.

**And yet, he wouldn't change this life for anything in the world.**

Marinette was an extremely energetic little girl. (She had accomplished the feat of tired Wally!).

"Uncle Wally, AGAIN!"

"Just a minute _baby bird_... uncle Wally... needs to breathe..."

She broke the furniture of the house by doing spins... (She climbed on the cupboards, jumped from the couch). She jumped on her bed, climbed on the curtains, climbed on the table...).

"Marinette! The couch is not a trampoline!"

"Okay!"

-Two minutes later-

"MARINETTE, don't climb on the furniture!"

"All right."

-Five minutes later-

"Marinette."

"Yes, Papa?"

"What are you doing with my uniform?"

"I'm fixing it. It's all white, it's ugly!"

"...*Has now a pink police uniform, with sequins, little flowers and a note with "best papa" written on it.*"

She said absolutely EVERYTHING that came into her head... (Which had already gotten him into trouble because Marinette was TOO honest).

"Hey, _Cup Cake_."

"Hm. *focus on her drawing* Yes, Jay-Jay?"

"What do you think of Bruce's new girlfriend?"

"Which one? Grandpa changes girlfriends every week."

"The new one with the blonde hair."

"Oh... _The Bit**_?"

"…"

She talked a lot, asked too many questions. (Dick now had a notebook in which he kept track of all the questions Marinette asked him, which was a perfect "blackmail" tool for later. Yes, he was a sadist. He had to make the most of _his years of suffering_).

Sometimes she was capricious. (It was definitely Bruce's fault. He spoiled her way too much! He never refused her anything! That's why he didn't leave Mari alone with Bruce for too long... Marinette would be able to convince him to offer her a toy store as a birthday present... -she had already tried, fortunately Jason was there to stop Bruce-)

Marinette managed to make him laugh like no one else.

She lit up his days...

**He was definitely a masochist...**

-XxxX-

It was an early afternoon. He was about to go on patrol with a colleague when Amy came running into the parking.

"Grayson, I'll take over for you. The school called, there's been an accident with Marinette, she's in the hospital in Blüdhaven."

The world suddenly stopped spinning for him at that moment.

His blood froze completely.

He couldn't tell if his colleague had said anything else. Dick ran away to his bikes to get to the hospital. Once there, he quickly made his way to the reception, where he was directed to a ward.

As he approached the room, he began to hear a familiar laugh. He felt like he could breathe again. At least Mari was conscious.

"He is a vampire!"

"Oh? really?"

"YES! He only goes out at night, because if he goes out during the day, he will become ashes!"

"Hmmm."

Marinette was telling the doctor who was examining her, that Batman was a vampire. Luckily Mari was still a little girl, and no one was taking this story seriously, but he was going to have a serious discussion with Marinette on the subject. The doctor, obviously very amused by her explanations, had a huge smile on his face. Dick had barely had time to walk through the door when Marinette spotted him immediately.

"DADDY!"

She was clearly going to jump out of bed, but the doctor held her back.

"Slowly, little Grayson, no sudden movements."

Dick approached the bed quickly to take his daughter in his arms. Marinette had a bandage covering her forehead. He turned to the doctor.

"Can you tell me what happened? Is she okay?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Grayson, it's much less serious than it sounds. As for what happened, however, I don't have the details. All my colleagues have told me is that the little lady fell down the stairs."

"It's a lie!"

The two adults turned to Marinette, who was frowning, and looked at the doctor.

Dick put Marinette back on the bed. Then he ran his hand through his daughter's hair while talking to her softly.

"Sunshine, can you tell Daddy what happened?"

"It's Chloe's fault! She attacked me with her scissors, Chloe is mean! But I'm faster, and I managed to run. But then, at recess, she pushed me and I got a very, very bad headache because I fell on the table corner. But then Miss Bustier told me that I had to say sorry to Chloé, because Chloé is mean and it's not her fault, and you have to be nice to girls like Chloé. So I said NO! Because it wasn't my fault. Then afterwards I still had a very, very bad headache. And then everything turned very, very fast, and then it was all black. And... After... Uhuuh... I don't know what happened after that... Oh yes, there was the nice lady in white... And uh... After... well... uh... after Papa was there."

Dick frowned.

This story was extremely strange. However, the young man knew that the story his daughter was telling him was probably true. Marinette had never lied to him until now. She was incredibly honest (sometimes too honest...). If so, why had the school reported that Marinette had fallen down some stairs? It didn't make any sense.

The doctor asked Dick for permission to do some additional tests to avoid complications. He agreed immediately. Marinette was able to leave with him at the end of the evening.

Once back home, Dick ordered a pizza. Then, he called his friend Amy to inform her of Marinette's condition. He also told her the strange story Marinette had told him.

"She must be talking about Chloé Bourgeois."

"Bourgeois... As in André Bourgeois, the mayor of Blüdhaven?"

"Unfortunately, yes. She is in 3rd grade. Her favorite pastime is to terrorize those smaller than her. I know this because she tried to harass my son. Bad luck for her, a friend of mine who also has her son in the same class, warned me. I immediately asked the principal to change my son's class if he didn't want me to sue him. Since I am a police officer, he took me seriously. This brat loves giving orders to others. Marinette probably had to refuse to do what this little brat asked her to do."

"…"

Dick began to see more clearly into the matter. If this girl was indeed the daughter of the current mayor (who was corrupt, by the way), then the director was not doing anything for fear of retaliation (or was just as corrupt as the mayor). If this girl was in 3rd grade, she must have been about eight or nine years old, something like that. If this kid was already doing this at that age, what would she become when she grew up?

The young father was angry. Especially since Marinette's teacher seemed to be aware of the situation, and had asked his daughter to apologize to her bully! And apologize for what exactly?! For defending herself?!

It was absolutely outrageous!

Dick's anger only increased when he had to take Marinette back to the hospital in emergency around three o'clock in the morning. She was puking and complaining of head pain.

**Marinette had a concussion. **

She had to stay in the hospital for two full days. She also had to stay in a dark, dimly lit room because the light was hurting her eyes. Fortunately, once she was well rested, this incident would not leave any lasting effects on her.

Dick went from anger to rage when he went to school to ask for an explanation. The principal had the nerve to tell him that Marinette was a little liar and that Miss Chloé Bourgeois was an exemplary student. Worst of all, he told Dick that Marinette was a little pest, that she was the one who annoyed "poor" Chloé, and that the blonde had already complained about his daughter on several occasions.

Basically, this jerk was telling him that what had happened to Marinette was not only her fault, but that she deserved it.

"So... If I understood correctly what you're telling me. My daughter is wrong because she refused to serve as a slave to the mayor's daughter?"

"Watch your words, sir! What I'm telling you is simply that Marinette is not innocent in this case. She is nevertheless a disruptive student, who quarrels very regularly with other students."

" Other students who harassed younger students."

"Mr. Grayson, you-"

"Needless to say, Mr. Damocles, I understand that you prefer to protect the bullies and crush the weak. Just know one thing, Mayor Bourgeois is not the only one with contacts."

He got up and left the room without waiting for the director's explanations.

Indeed, the Bourgeois kid was so exemplary that Dick, on leaving the director's office, had the pleasure of seeing the brat at work. The little blond girl was forcing a little girl, probably about Marinette's age, to carry her bag.

Dick had had the mayor of Blüdhaven in his sights for some time. Unfortunately, he had other, more urgent matters to attend to, so he had stopped his investigation of Mayor Bourgeois.

But this time it was different.

He didn't give a damn if it was just a little girl.

No one in this world had the right to attack his daughter. And this damn town was about to find out **how ruthless Nightwing could be. **

It was high time that Blüdhaven was purged of its parasites.

Within a week, almost all city officials were indicted. Their corruption was exposed. Newspapers were full of stories about the corrupt municipality of Blüdhaven.

The town hall had helped traffickers of all kinds, extorted money from the citizens. They had agreements with several criminal organizations.

The mayor, Mr. Bourgeois, used public money to pay for trips, to buy houses and cars, to give gifts to his daughter...

Dick had never been so happy to know Clark Kent. The Kryptonian had had a great time. It was the scoop of the century!

As for Mr. Damocles... Dick left him in the hands of Bruce. The young man knew that there was no more cruel form of vengeance.

Bruce loved Marinette. He spoiled her every chance he got. She was his precious granddaughter.

So when Dick called him to tell about what had happened at school, the word "anger" wasn't enough to describe the state of his former mentor.

Usually, the young man hated using his mentor's name to get anything. He liked his independence, and more than anything else wanted to get out of Bruce's shadow. But for once, he just wanted a bowl of popcorn and enjoy the show.

He will never forget the terrified look on Mr. Damocles' face when he realized that Marinette was Bruce Wayne's granddaughter. In other words, this guy wasn't going to be back to being a director anytime soon. The teacher, a certain Câline Bustier suffered the same fate.

"So... I'm going to have a new teacher?"

"Yes, Sunshine. I think the new teacher's name is Miss Mendeleïev."

"Hm. Is grandpa okay?"

"Bruce? Yes, why?"

"Are you sure? It was very hot yesterday... there was a lot of sunlight."

"... Bruce has great sunscreen ..."

"Hm. Okay."

Marinette was still convinced that Bruce was a vampire. Dick had given up trying to talk some sense into her.

**The next day, Blüdhaven, 9:00 a.m.**

"Grandpa! Can you lend me your sunscreen? I don't want to get sunburned."

"My Sunscreen?"

"Yes, the one you use so you don't turn into ashes!"

"…."

**Yeah... He wouldn't change this life for anything in the world!**


	18. Chap 18: Daddy Jay

** Chapter : Accident (Jay)**

**Five years later. **

Jason Todd, doctoral student in English literature. Working part-time in a garage in Metropolis. Aspires to become a professor of English literature at the university.

A lot had happened in those few years.

First of all, Jason had finally confessed to his family who was Marinette's biological mother. The news had come as a huge surprise to Dick and Tim. Bruce, on the other hand, confessed to Jason that he already knew.

He learned that day that while he was away as Red Hood, someone had spread the rumor that Hood had died. The person behind the rumors was none other than Deathstroke. When Bruce confronted him on the matter, he simply replied:

"I'm just giving my son-in-law the best conditions to raise my granddaughter."

Bruce didn't know how to interpret this sentence at first, but it all made sense when Tim told the family that he had discovered that Jason was raising a baby. Deathstoke's sentence suddenly made sense. The identity of the baby's mother wasn't hard to guess.

As a result, Jason moved again, this time to a highly secure apartment, which was connected to the Manor, Dick's apartment, and Oracle Tower.

The apartment in question was on the top floor of a modern building. Jason had the entire top floor at his disposal. With a huge terrace, a swimming pool, a huge fully equipped kitchen... Bruce had seen things in a big way (Jason decided not to complain, it was not him who paid the rent and at least he was going to be able to raise his little Pixie in the best possible conditions).

Above all, he was the happy father of a 6-year-old girl.

Marinette was a very emotional little girl.

**VERY **emotional...

Jason had to be extremely careful what he said to her. Because otherwise she would sometimes overreact.

"Daddy, why isn't Grandpa here yet? He's already twenty minutes late... "

"Ah yes, it slipped my mind. Bruce is not coming today."

"Oh? Why?"

"He fell off his horse and-"

"WHAT?! OH MY GOD! We must go and see him right away! Did he hurt his head? Did he? A horse is huge, it stinks and it's scary! What if he doesn't remember me?! What do I do if I don't have Grandpa anymore ?! IT'S A DISASTER !"

"..."

Jason had to take it upon himself not to die laughing every time. Marinette had an overflowing imagination and came up with theories and absurd scenarios.

"Marinette... Why are all your clothes on the floor?"

"It is a DISASTER! I'm supposed to go with Rose* to the pool, and my swimsuit is SMALL! I'm going to look like a sausage!"

Marinette was running around and ended up getting her foot caught on one of her T-shirts. She fell on the floor. Then she lifted her head slowly and looked at him with exorbitant eyes. Jason couldn't resist.

"...Pfff..."

Jason started laughing in spite of himself.

"How can you laugh at a time like this?! I'm in the middle of a HUGE CRISIS!"

Marinette was so clumsy, that sometimes Jason wondered if one night when he came home, he wouldn't find Marinette's lifeless body, because she had slipped on a banana peel and snapped her neck when she fell...

She always had an aversion to heroes. She hated Batman, she disliked Nightwing, but for some reason he didn't know, she loved Robin (and only Robin...), the rest of the "Bat-clan" was royally ignored.

Marinette still loved Green Lantern, he was still her favorite hero. But now she also loved Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Shazam and Aquaman.

And Dick had the good idea to talk to Roy about Marinette's tastes, and he told Oliver about them. So, to annoy Bruce, Oliver and Hal each gave Dick an autograph, and Dick immediately gave it to Marinette, to Bruce's exasperation.

The two autographs were now framed in his living room (Marinette took great care of them, and Dick became her favorite uncle -deleting Timbo from first place-).

According to Dick, Green Lantern never missed an opportunity to harass Batman on the subject.

**Jason was fully satisfied with it** (It wasn't because he was on good terms with Bruce that he didn't like to see him suffer anymore...).

Marinette was scared of everything and anything. Dick had a video of her screaming in fear and running away because she was afraid of her own shadow when she was two years old.

Pixie was also... incredibly materialistic and pragmatic.

He particularly remembered one trip he was doing with Marinette, where Dick accompanied them (he had intruded). Dick said that he was currently giving self-defense classes for free.

"Uncle Ric... We really need to treat your _hero syndrome_."

" Hero Syndrome?"

"There is only a hero to work without being paid."

Dick frowned and looked at Marinette strangely. He, for his part, remained silent.

"Heroes save people, Mari, it's not something you can _buy_."

" _Bullsh*t_! Doctors save people and they get paid for it. So are first-aid workers. And they are not even recognized as heroes! While the people called "Heroes" break a lot of things, put a lot of people in _sh*t_ and they are acclaimed as gods."

"…"

" Mari, look, there's a shark "

Luckily, Jason manages to distract his daughter's attention to something else. Dick remained silent for a moment and then looked at him with an eyebrow raised. Jason just shrugged his shoulders.

Jason had never taught this to Marinette. Instead, he had always told her to think for herself and make up her own mind about things. Mari had never been particularly fond of "heroes," and this since she was a baby. If that's what she thought, he certainly wasn't going to change her mind. She had the right to have her own opinion on the matter.

And yet this clumsy little girl had an exceptional talent.

She was a true _Cordon Bleu_.

"Master Jason, this meal was absolutely exquisite."

"Al's right Jay, I didn't think you could get any better!"

"That's true, it was particularly excellent Jaylad."

"Thank you. But you're complimenting the wrong person. It was Pixie who made tonight's dinner. From the _entrée_ to the dessert."

The three men turned to Marinette.

"Mademoiselle Marinette will become a great chef."

"OMG Mari, I absolutely must have a video of you cooking."

"It's really good work."

She became as red as Flash's outfit.

-XxxX-

Slade Wilson could be qualified by several terms.

All negative, of course: murderer, selfish, opportunist, arrogant, manipulative.

However, this apparently cold-blooded man had a weak point. A secret that no one knew, and that he did absolutely everything to keep it that way.

Deathstoke had a granddaughter.

Surprisingly enough, Slade loved his family. He certainly had a very special way of showing it, but the feeling was there.

And he would do anything to give his lineage the longest life possible.

Slade discovered that his daughter Rose was pregnant completely by chance. He always kept an eye on his children. She was no exception. The mercenary was at first surprised that his daughter could be so careless. He was even more surprised when he realized that she was planning to keep the child.

Then, like a good father, he watched her every move from a distance. Slade was there to intervene in case his stupid daughter put herself in danger.

Rose gave birth to a baby girl.

Slade quickly understood that Rose would not be a good mother. He didn't know what made his daughter keep the child, but if it was to neglect her like that, she would have been better off having an abortion. Rose was barely taking care of the baby. She would forget to change her, forget to feed her... She would quickly become annoyed with her crying.

Slade found himself, reluctantly, babysitting the baby several times. When Rose wasn't around, he would break into her house and take care of the baby.

The situation annoyed him deeply. He didn't have time to play "nice grandpa". So he came up with a plan. Despite her negligence, Rose was still attached to the baby (he would never understand his daughter).

So he came to her one night and told her that he was going to take the baby from her and give it to one of his clients who was looking for children to be used as guinea pigs for experiments. Rose's reaction was immediate. She took the baby and left to give it to the biological father.

Slade was extremely surprised to learn that his daughter had had an affair with one of Batman's sons. At least she had had the decency to choose the most interesting of the three.

He watched the boy from a distance. If the brat ever proved incompetent, Slade would kill him and find himself an adoptive family for his granddaughter. However, life was full of surprises. The kid behaved admirably. Beyond his expectations. The kid took care of the baby as if she were the most precious thing in the world.

**Slade smiled. **

Against all odds, **Red Hood was a good father**.

It was perfect. For once, his idiot daughter had made the right decision.

His granddaughter would have a great life, with a family that loved her, away from danger. And above all, normal.

That was all he couldn't offer.

Slade was content to observe things from a distance. He couldn't afford to get too close. No one needed to learn of the girl's existence. Besides, he wasn't an idiot. Red Hood had made a lot of enemies. If any of them learned his identity, the girl's safety would be compromised.

So he set about removing all traces of Red Hood's activities. He spread rumors of his death.

**Time passed.**

His granddaughter was growing up day by day in a very suitable environment. She had the good and the best. The kid was doing a good job.

The little one had the life she deserved.

Then one day, when he had just finished a job, he went to a bar. That day an incident happened.

"You've heard the latest rumors?"

"Which ones? There are too many at the moment."

"The one about the Joker!"

"AH YEAH! Are you talking about the rumor that the second Robin was killed by the Joker?"

"Yep, it seems that the second Robin is actually Red Hood, and that he has been resurrected."

"Don't talk nonsense, people can't be resurrected, it's impossible..."

"Besides, Red Hood is dead, everyone knows that."

"Yet I heard that Red Hood is alive, that he is just hiding somewhere."

"Seriously?! Where'd you hear that, man?"

"In Gotham the other day, there was this chick... The one hanging out with the Joker... I heard her boyfriend's up to something."

The conversation immediately caught his attention, as soon as the name "Red Hood" was mentioned.

_The joker killed the second Robin?_

Slade had always thought that the kid had just rebelled against his father and fallen into the dark side of his own will. But if that was true, and the kid was dead, then he did know a way to bring the dead back to life. Mysterious waters guarded by an old jerk and his petty girl.

But even more important than the kid's past.

The Joker seemed to know Red Hood's identity.

That meant only one thing: **his granddaughter was in danger. **

Slade finished his drink, paid and left the bar. His next destination was already decided.

**He had a clown to exterminate.**

-XxxX-

Jason will never forget that morning.

It was a Friday the 13th.

He was making breakfast for himself and Marinette, who was getting dressed for school. As usual, when Marinette had finished getting dressed, she turned on the television in the living room on the news. They always ate together while listening to the news.

"We learned this morning that the corpse of the Joker and his sidekick Harley Quinn were found by Gotham police. The circumstances of the death are still unknown [...]"

Jason dropped his cup of coffee which broke into a thousand pieces on the ground.

He was in shock.

"Daddy?! Are you okay?"

"…"

**The Joker was dead. **

Jason smiled, then laughed almost uncontrollably. It was too good to be true! He suspected that Bruce had nothing to do with it. His moral code forbade him to kill. Deep down, it didn't matter who did it.

**He was extremely grateful. **

Jason looked at his precious little Pixie, who looked at him worried. He put his hand on her little head and smiled.

"You know what, sweetie, why don't we go to the park today?"

"The park? But... What about school?... "

"Don't worry honey, just a missing day of school isn't a big deal. Daddy has a big event to celebrate."

"All right! I want to eat ice cream! And do a lot of rides!"

"Anything you want, Pixie."

She ate her breakfast with enthusiasm.

Jason picked up the pieces of the broken cup and went to make himself a new cup of coffee.

With this "accident", he would give anything to see Bruce's face at that moment.

_This time he can't blame me for anything. I no longer live in Gotham. I am no longer Red Hood. I haven't been out in the field at all for years. To think that Bruce's "soul mate" would be eliminated by a complete stranger... Just thinking about it makes me want to burst out laughing. _

**It's going to be a really beautiful day.**

* * *

*This "Rose" is the blondie girl, Marinette's classmate in Miraculous.

* * *

**BONUS:**

Tim was the babysitter of the day. Jason would work exceptionally late, so he volunteered to stay with Marinette.

He loved playing video games with her.

While they were in the middle of playing Street Fighter, Tim wanted to satisfy one of his curiosities.

"Marinette, can I ask you a question?"

"Yep."

"Why do you like Green Lantern so much?"

"Because his outfit reminds me of spinach. I love spinach."

"….. Green Lantern reminds you of spinach?!..."

"Yep! Green Arrow looks like a _salad dish_, Martian Manhunter looks like _green beans_, Flash looks like a _tomato_, Captain Marvel reminds me of _spaghetti Bolognese_...".

Suddenly, Tim started laughing uncontrollably. He had finally understood the mystery surrounding Marinette's disdain for "heroes".

**Marinette only liked "heroes" who reminded her of food.**


	19. Chap 19: Daddy Tim

Thank to BabyClara for "betareading" this chapter! ^^

This is one of the most important chapters of AU Daddy Tim! The mood is a bit different, compared to the last two chapters, but I hope you'll enjoy it all the same.

* * *

** 3 YEARS AGO. **

Tim was in Paris, accompanied by Marinette. He had been travelling around the world with his daughter for almost a year and a half. They had already been all around South America and they had made a stopover in Australia.

Now, at the request of Peanuts , they were going to start their European tour in France.

They had chosen as their hotel, Le Grand Palace. It had the reputation of being the best hotel in the city of Paris. The owner of the place, when learning that he was part of the "Wayne" family, granted him the most luxurious suite in the hotel. He had no complaints; the service was impeccable.

What was a pain was having this guy bending over their shoulders all day long. Tim had to put on a good face and play his role as "Timothy Wayne", the CEO of WE. He wasn't the only one suffering. Marinette had also found herself with a pot of glue. The daughter of the hotel owner, also a secretary at the Paris City Hall*, followed her everywhere.

The girl was unbearable.

Tim would have liked Bruce to meet this girl. There indeed, he would be in front of an undisciplined, spoiled, and disrespectful kid. Peanuts was a saint next to this blonde brat.

At the end of the third day, they finally managed to escape (literally) from the hotel. While walking around the city, they came across a small store selling tea and coffee. The store was ran by a very nice old man. The old man, nicknamed Monsieur Chan, said that he had come to France to flee his native village in Tibet. He offered them a taste of his products. Tim was a little hesitant at first, but he gave in because of the enthusiasm of Peanuts.

He drank the best coffee of his life that day.

Tim bought several boxes of coffee. Peanuts selected several boxes of tea.

A few times a week, Tim would go to this small store with Peanuts.

Eventually, he became attached to Mr. Chan. He reminded him a lot of Alfred.

In all, they stayed in France for three months.

The day before their departure, they paid a last visit to Mr. Chan. On this occasion, the old man gave Marinette a small panda teddy bear and to him a notebook containing the secret of his coffee making.

Two days after their departure, Tim received a call from a member of Mr. Chan's family, announcing his death.

Tim found it very difficult to console his Peanuts after this event.

** PRESENT. **

"Titus, this plush toy is mine! How did you get into my room? "

Titus wagged his tail while watching Marinette. Unfortunately, it was early afternoon, and Damian was still in middle school. Marinette, who had had class that morning, was present with Tim at the Manor.

The Great Dane was obviously in a playful mood, so he ran off with Marinette's stuffed toy. A chase started. The more Marinette and Tim ran after the dog to try and get the stuffed animal, the faster the dog ran away from them, thinking they were playing with him.

"TITUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS! Bad dog! Come back here right away! "

As a result of trying to catch the dog all over the Manor, the commotion attracted the attention of everyone present there. This included Jason and the entire Grayson family (Dick, Kori and Mar'i ).

Everyone started chasing the dog.

Alas, the chase ended with a tragedy. Titus, by waving the stuffed animal around, eventually tore one of its arms off. Marinette screamed in horror and tried catching the dog again, slipping on the waxed floor and falling.

Before anyone could do anything about it, Titus ripped the head off the plushie.

"NOOO! PUSHY! "

Marinette got up immediately and pulled what was left of the stuffed animal out of the dog's mouth. The dog continued wagging its tail, completely unaware of the disaster it had caused.

Damn it.

Tim mentally prepared himself for the worst.

At first, they was a silence. Then sobbing could be heard.

Marinette began to cry uncontrollably. The head of the plush in her little hands.

Would Damian blame him if he killed his dog?

Tim swallowed his temper. This was no time to get angry. He approached Marinette and took her in his arms. He took her to his room and spent several hours trying to calm her down.

She cried all afternoon.

Finally, when Marinette calmed down a little late in the evening, Tim decided to come back and get the remains of poor "Pushy".

He was on his way to the kitchen when he ran into Damian. For once, the kid seemed embarrassed.

"Richard informed me that there had been an... _incident._ ..with Titus. "

"Hmm. It's nothing... Marinette will get over it in the end. This toy was very special to her. "

"I see. Is there... Is there any way I could talk to her later? I need to formally apologize. "

"Yes, but not tonight. "

"All right. "

They walked together to the kitchen. Alfred was there, as was the rest of the family (Bruce had been informed of the incident as soon as he walked through the door). As always, Dick was the first to notice him.

"Tim! How's Marinette doing?"

" Bad. "

" … "

There was silence.

Tim sighed. He knew what was going on. Everyone was curious. They wanted to know why Marinette had reacted so strongly. They were all used to Marinette's quiet, composed, and elegant style.

Tim sat down and told the "origin story" of Pushy the Panda .

"Tim... I am so sorry. "

"Thank you, Kori. "

Alfred walked towards Tim, with a small envelope and a grey pocket watch in his hands.

"Master Tim, I think Mr. Chan really liked Mistress Marinette. "

"Ah?"

" Earlier, while retrieving the pieces of mr. Pu s hy , I found this inside it s body."

Tim frowned intrigued. He took the watch and opened it. A blue light emanated from the watch, and a kind of blue holographic figure appeared showing the time. The sound of a music box was heard.

Tim analyzed the object from all angles.

This watch was definitely rare, and especially of great value. The quality of its mechanism was unquestionable.

Bruce asked to look at the watch. Finally, the watch eventually went around the table.

Meanwhile, Tim took the letter and opened it. When he read the contents of the letter, he couldn't help but smile.

_ Mr. Chan was truly a good man... _

"Tim, what does this letter say? "

Of course, the greatest detective on the planet didn't like surprises, and always wanted to know everything.

"It's just a letter from Monsieur Chan to Marinette. "

"So what else? "

Tim didn't answer, he just got up, retrieved the watch, which was in Mar'i's hands, and headed for the exit. He thanked Alfred in passing.

It was high time for him and his little Peanuts to go home.

** One week later. **

Tim and Marinette returned to the Manor very early in the morning to enjoy the breakfast served by Alfred. (They were always so lazy to cook in the morning...)

Marinette was doing very well. She had gotten over it. Mr. Chan's watch and letter had contributed enormously to her "recovery".

They found themselves back with the Grayson's again. Tim wondered if Dick had anything to do in life... Damian was also there; he was on his way to middle school soon. The moment Marinette saw him, she moved in next to him. (Tim was still shocked to see them getting along so well. After the episode with Alya , Damian and Marinette spent their lives sticking together, Tim seriously wondered, if miracles existed...)

"Hey, Marinette! You're looking better. "

"Yes, thank you, Uncle Richard. "

"I told you before to call me Dick... Uncle Richard makes me feel like a fossil."

"I don't feel like calling a family member, using a term that is commonly used to metaphorically refer to the male gender. "

Marinette deadpan.

Damian let out a small, amused grin, while Dick rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.

"Marinette, you're spending too much time with Damian... "

"I only surround myself with the best... _Uncle Richard._ "

Dick laughed heartily. The rest of the breakfast went without a hitch. Marinette was discussing with Damian about a painting exposition on the theme of nature. This year, two paintings made by Damian were going to be exhibited at this event. They wanted to go together.

He should find some time to go and see the exhibition too...

Then, a certain alien hybrid decided to come and ruin the atmosphere. (Tim really had a problem with Dick's daughter. He found her unbearable. If Marinette was spoiled, that kid was the queen of capricious. Mar'i never took no for an answer, and always made sure everything went her way. And what annoyed Tim even more was that Bruce didn't realize it).

"Marinette, can I see your watch? "

Marinette hesitated for a moment, but finally took her watch out of her pocket and put it on the table. Mar'i immediately took it in her hands.

"It's really very beautiful! "

"Thank you. "

" Hey, what did your letter say? "

" … "

Kory reprimanded Mar'i immediately.

" Mar'i , be more considerate towards your cousin. I'm sorry, Marinette."

"It's nothing, Aunt Kori. Grandpa didn't say anything confidential anyway."

Damian frowned, but chose not to say anything. Tim chose to remain silent as well, he had already had a bad week. Dick, on the other hand, seemed uncomfortable, but still chose to keep silent (as usual...).

Marinette recited the contents of the letter.

_ "As we grow old, we realize life doesn't always give us all the gifts we hoped it would. I would have loved to tell you all this in person, Marinette. But if you're reading this, it means I'm already gone. But you mustn't be scared, and you mustn't be sad. As I was telling you at the beginning of this letter, experiencing loss is a part of life. But it doesn't define it. Because what really matters isn't whether you win or lose. It's the ability to accept changes in ourselves. It's accepting that even if life doesn't always give us the gifts we were hoping for, the real gift, is life itself." _

Kori smiles sadly.

"He was a very wise man. I wish I could have met him. "

"Kori is right, he wrote you a beautiful letter Marinette. He loved you very much. "

" Probably. "

As Tim was about to change the subject, Mar'i decided to stick the knife in the wound.

"Marinette, will you lend me your watch? It's really cool! "

Everyone froze. Because in Mar'i's language, " lend " meant " give ".

" **No.** "

Marinette ripped the watch out of Mar'i's hands.

" Hey! But, why?! It's just a watch! Marinette, you can buy a lot more..."

"MAR'I! "

"What?! It's true! "

Tim was ready to put that brat in her place. He was certain that Damian was about to explode as well. But to everyone's surprise, it was Alfred who decided to take the floor.

"Mistress Mar'i , there are limits to insensitivity . What you have just said is disrespectful not only to your cousin, but also to the person who gave her such a precious gift. Please review your behaviour and apologize. "

"But..."

" Immediately. "

Mar'i was startled. Tim felt a shiver run down his spine. It was rare to see Alfred furious.

There was a silence, then Mar'i apologized to Marinette with a small voice.

"It's alright . I can't "lend" you my watch. But if you like it so much, I can always buy you one. All we have to do is find a watchmaker to place an order. There are quite a few in Switzerland. "

"No... It's okay. "

"I don't want a watch; I want this watch." That's probably what Mar'i was thinking at the time. The kid was transparent with her emotion s.

** Tim had a bad feeling. **

** Several weeks later. **

Drake could no longer find her watch.

It was strange. This object was precious to her. Damian knew that his niece took great care of it. That wasn't all, she was a meticulous and organized person. It was not at all like her to misplace her things.

Damian had an idea who was behind this "mysterious" disappearance. A person that Damian had learned to hate with all his heart. The person who had been responsible for his expulsion from the Teen Titans.

His second niece: Mar'i Grayson.

Like many, at first, he liked his niece very much. She was Richard's daughter after all. However, she was a real little viper.

Her speciality ? Always putting the blame on others.

Once, the Teen Titans had captured a dangerous criminal. Nightstar (aka Mar'i ) was supposed to watch him with Robin. Mar'i was bored, so she was playing with her powers. Annoyed by her antics, Robin asked her to stop several times. Alas, one of Nightstar's lasers bounced off one of the walls. The laser released the prisoner's bonds and he fled. Robin pursued him but was unable to catch him. When he returned, he was greeted by an icy atmosphere.

**Mar'i ** ** had said it was his fault.**

And everyone believed Mar'i . Well, with the exception of Jon. His best friend lived up to his "title". He defended it to the end, but alas, for this "mistake" he was banished from the Teen Titans (they were already looking for an excuse to exclude him). Eventually, he created his own group.

Two things made Damian suspect Richard's daughter.

The first, was this " incident " with Titus. His dog never enters a room without being invited. Drake always left her bedroom door closed. This meant that someone had opened the door, but it also meant that someone had deliberately given him the stuffed animal. However, a few days earlier, Drake had refused to leave her stuffed toy with Mar'i .

The second reason was that the night Pennyworth gave the letter to Drake (the father), the watch was passing from hand to hand. He saw how Mar'i's eyes lit up at the sight of the watch. The problem with this kid was that when she wanted something, she wouldn't take no for an answer. She manipulated everyone to get what she wanted in the end. Drake (the daughter) refused to "lend" her watch.

However, he needed proof.

Unfortunately, Mar'i was very important to his father. He even showed favoritism towards Mar'i . Which, by the way, probably explained why she was picking on Drake. Because she knew that no matter what happened, even if Drake accused her, her father would defend her.

Damian knew that there were surveillance cameras in every room. So, hopefully, the scene had been filmed. He decided to take a look.

He was not disappointed.

Damian realized that it was much worse than he had anticipated.

Mar'i was constantly stealing things from Marinette.

He watched several weeks of videos. Mar'i was essentially stealing jewelry. But she also took clothes (and Damian wondered why, since they were not at all the same size or build). She took shoes, toys, pens and perfume.

The common point of these thefts was that they all took place while Marinette was in class. Early in the morning.

He finally found out what he had come to check first: Mar'i had stolen Drake's watch. But not only that. Mar'i was also guilty of the incident with Titus. She was the one who opened the door to the dog, and she was also the one who gave him the stuffed animal.

"If I can't have it, then you can't have it either", it must have been that thought that made her act that way.

Armed with all this evidence, Damian went to show it to his father.

It was high time Batman paid more attention to what was going on in his family.

\- XxxX -

With the recent rapprochement between Damian and Marinette... (He sincerely couldn't say if this was a good or bad thing given both their personalities). Bruce had found himself a little... lost.

Bruce had absolutely nothing left to blame Marinette for.

Her behavior was impeccable.

She knew the etiquette of their circles perfectly well. Whether it was the way she expressed herself, or the way she sat at the table.

** A true little lady. **

Bruce had to admit that Tim had done a remarkable job of educating her.

That's why he was now facing a case of conscience.

Tim had decided to go on a long-term mission (in Tim's language, that meant a maximum of two weeks) with Young Justice, leaving his job as CEO in Bruce's hands. He found it hard to deny this request to his son, especially after their last fender bender. Bruce was busy with some documents concerning WE. Well, he was trying to concentrate on it.

The truth was that he had become aware of his lack of judgment.

Tim was right to insist with Marinette. Her current behavior was proof that people can change for the better.

** He had been wrong. **

Bruce had been extremely unfair to the girl. And now he didn't know how to make amends for his mistake.

He sighed, then began to massage his temple.

It was at that moment that he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Come in. "

It was Damian.

"Father, I need to talk to you about something extremely important. "

"Something important? "

"It's about Marinette. "

Bruce frowned.

He could already feel that what Damian wanted to tell him was not going to please him.

\- XxxX -

" Nightstar . "

"Grandpa! I mean, Batman. "

" Nightstar , I'm here because I'd like to show you something, I would like your opinion. "

"Of course, Gran...Batman. "

He handed her a tablet and started a video of Mar'i stealing Marinette's watch.

Nightstar became pale.

" Nightstar . Where is the watch? "

"Grandpa, it's a misunderstanding, Marinette lent me her watch. "

"Marinette never l ends this watch to anyone . Even her father i s not allowed to touch it. "

"She must have forgotten! And then... Grandpa, Marinette is a prankster... She likes to play tricks on everybody, she had to create this video to annoy me. "

"I'm the one who placed these cameras. Marinette is not aware of their existence. "

" … "

"Now that your excuses are over, I'm asking you a second time. Where is this watch? "

"... I ... I don't have it anymore ... I gave it to a friend as a birthday present ..."

"Should I conclude that the objects you steal from Marinette's room are gifts for your friends? "

"I never- "

"I've seen all the videos from this year's Nightstar . "

" … "

"Answers. "

"Y-Yes..."

"What's this friend's name?"

" … "

" Nightstar . My patience is long gone. His name. Now. "

"J-Jon... I gave it to Jon..."

Batman turned around and left without a word or a glance back. Leaving behind him a Nightstar trembling with anger.

He spoke with Superman, briefly explaining the situation. The Man of Steel had no trouble taking the watch back and handing it to him.

"It's strange, I never would have thought that from Nightstar . She looked like a nice girl to me. "

"Hmm."

" So? What are you going to do now? "

" … "

** It was an excellent question. **

The first thing Bruce did was to give Marinette's watch to her vixen Alya . The animal immediately brought it back to her little mistress.

Marinette was thrilled to get her watch back.

While she was stroking her animal, while talking with Damian, Bruce realized that Tim (who had managed to complete his mission in record time) was staring at him. The glacial look he was giving him was enough for Bruce to understand, that Tim knew.

Bruce realized that if he hadn't acted, it was very likely that Tim would have. And this time... Bruce felt that he would not have forgiven, that he would not have come back.

The thought of that alone gave him chills.

Marinette went to put away her watch, accompanied by Damian.

She walked by, and whispered three words to him:

"Thank you, Bruce. "

Then she went on her way as if nothing had happened. Damian glanced at him, while following Marinette.

_ Then she knew it too. _

He thought back to his tense relationship with Jason.

His conflicted relationship with Dick.

His current relationship with Tim, which was far from ideal.

Even though he had tried to ignore it, he realized that it was no longer possible to pretend to be ignorant.

How do you fix a "family", which has this title in name only?

Bruce left.

He was overwhelmed with contradictory feelings. A single thought, however, circled around in his head.

_ What do I do now? _


	20. Chap 20: Daddy Damian

This is one of the most important chapters of this AU.

Thank to Baby Clara for "betareading" this chapter!

* * *

**IMPORTANT:**

HELLO! I am preparing a very special 4 chapter series for my Au Daddy Robin! **"Marinette VS Lila!"** These chapters will be special because they will be from **Marinette's point of view**!

**This is why... I call upon YOU!**

I would like to write chapters with the _contribution of my readers_! This is my way of thanking you for taking the time to read my stories.

Any ideas or suggestions are welcome!

* * *

**Chapter Accident (Daddy Damian)**

Jon was having trouble breathing. He was holding his stomach, trying to stop the bleeding.

The earth was once again the target of an alien invasion. All available heroes had been called in to deal with the threat. Unfortunately, these aliens knew exactly what they were doing, they had brought several weapons loaded with kryptonite with them. They thought that by neutralizing the Kryptonians on Earth, their victory was assured.  
However, they had underestimated the heroes of Earth.

The invaders were forced to retreat.

As revenge, the aliens were blown up, with a large quantity of Kryptonite in their ships.

Jon was near one of these tricked ships. He had breathed in microparticles of Kryptonite and also had a piece of the damn green rock stuck in his stomach.  
His only consolation was that he was the only one who was hit in the explosion, and the rest of his family and friends were safe.

The problem?

The explosion had sent him far away. How far away? Jon had no idea. He didn't know if he was in space, or just somewhere in the sky. He didn't recognize anything anymore.  
He tried to find his way back, but the pain was so bad, and his breathing so difficult, that he soon found himself in trouble.

Jon's vision was blurred.

Breathing was getting harder and harder.

He could barely hear what was going on around him.

The young hybrid began to fall.

Before completely losing consciousness, he thought he saw a silhouette. He saw green eyes, surrounded by a kind of black mist. He also saw a kind of green "bird".

So... was that the end? Had death come for him this time?

Looks like this time I'm going to join you...Damian...

-XxxX-

Damian had just come home from work. Exceptionally, he hadn't let Marinette accompany him. She had stayed home, safe, with Titus.  
It was a day during which he only did heavy operations, he wouldn't have had time to give her any attention.

The truth was that when his daughter was around, he was unable to concentrate completely. She was a source of distraction for him.

It was not his daughter's fault. She was always wise and quiet.

**He was the problem.**

Every time he looked at her, he couldn't help but wonder if he was living in a dream.

This little girl was his daughter.

He had a daughter.

It had almost been two years, and he still couldn't get used to it. He didn't know that he could smile so much. Some things that he didn't understand before, suddenly became clearer.  
He had always wondered why his father came to see him in his room to make sure he was safe. Why his father often ran his hand through his hair. Why Grayson loved to address him with nicknames...  
Damian was experimenting these same situations with his little girl.

"Angel, I'm home."

Titus came to him, wagging his tail vigorously. He began to bark. Damian stroked his dog's head.

"Angel?"

He received no answer.

That was strange.

Damian went to his daughter's room and found it completely empty. He frowned. He started looking all over the house for Marinette, but the little girl was nowhere to be found.

Damian felt his blood freezing.

**Where was his baby?!**

Damian was panicking.

While he was thinking about calling the police or his father, a loud noise, like a firecracker, was heard. It came from the back of the house. Damian went there immediately. Titus at his side began to bark loudly.

When he arrived in the back garden of the house, Damian froze in astonishment.

There was some sort of giant green bird, in his garden, holding a person in its beak. On top of the animal was a person. It had a black cape and was surrounded by some kind of black mist.  
The figure jumped from the bird's back and landed gracefully on the ground. At that moment, its cape fell off, revealing black hair and a pair of dark green cat eyes. Damian could clearly see two, small, black cat ears.

Their eyes crossed.

"Marinette?"  
"Hmmmm?"

"Oh, that's right, you've never seen me in my Ghost form..."

A green light then flashed, and in the blink of an eye, a little girl with black hair and blue eyes stood in front of him. The giant bird disappeared at once.

"Father, look, I've captured an alien. _I'm going to dissect it._"  
"What?"

Damian was still in shock, but his amazement only increased when he realized the identity of the supposed "alien" that his daughter had "captured". (He was also making a mental note to explain to Marinette that **no**, she could not "_dissect_" all the "_creatures_" she found "_interesting_", especially if those creatures **were still alive**).

He rushed to check the "alien's" pulse.

Thank God he was still alive.

"Father? Do you know this creature?"  
"He's not a creature, Angel, his name is Jon."

He carried the young man inside the house.

"Angel, go get me the first aid kit. Hurry up."

She complied.

Damian tried to heal his... his what, by the way? Friend? Acquaintance? Brother?

As he tried to extract the piece of Kryptonite, Damian realized that ghosts were beginning to gather around him.

This was not a good sign at all.

"Father, is this "Jon" important to you?"  
"He's... an old friend."  
"I see."

Damian succeeds in removing the piece of Kryptonite. Jon started coughing quite violently. He opened his eyes painfully. Damian froze.

"D-Da...mian... "

To Damian's relief, Jon lost consciousness again.

Batman's son decided that the best way to help Jon was to bring him into direct contact with the sun. With a little luck, that would be enough to heal him.

"Marinette. I want you to take Jon and bring him as close to the sun as possible."

Marinette looked at him for a moment, then nodded her head. For the second time that strange afternoon, he saw his daughter turn into a humanoid cat.

"By the power of Azarath!"

She raised her little hands, and the strange green creature reappeared. This time, Damian managed to identify it as an eagle. The animal then took Jon in his beak and flew into the sky.  
He watched the animal fly away.

The ghosts were still present.

Damian could see that they were talking to each other, but he could not hear them. Indeed, the ability that Marinette had shared with him only allowed him to see the ghosts, but he could not interact with them.

The young father could not tell how much time had passed, but after a while, Marinette de-transformed and looked at him.

"The alien is fine. He's gone now."  
"I see..."

Damian ran his hand through his hair.

**He was extremely relieved.**

Then a question finally came into his mind. He looked at Marinette.

"Angel, why were you outside? Why did you bring Jon back?"

She looked at him for a moment, in silence, before answering.

"Do you see these ghosts around us?"  
"Yes."  
" These people all died today. As I saw them wandering around the sky, I decided to go and see what it was all about. That's when I saw _the alien_ falling out of the sky."  
"He... fell from the sky?..."  
"Yes, there seems to have been an alien invasion attempt or something like that."  
"... I see... "

For his mental health, Damian decided to simply accept Marinette's explanations, without asking any more questions. He had had a particularly busy day; he had just seen his daughter turn into the emo version of Catwoman.

He had had his fill of strange events for the day.

Damian went inside and Titus followed him. He had to clean up the blood that now lay in his living room. Marinette followed him very closely, while the ghosts dispersed under the girl's orders.  
However, Damian was still too disturbed by what he had just experienced and did not realize that a figure had been watching them closely the whole time.  
This figure had a long black cape, short ebony hair, and very light gray eyes. Its skin was so white that it made the snow pale. It had a scythe in its hand.

**But Marinette had spotted it.**

-XxxX-

**Death was amused.**

The child in front of her had stood up to her in a particularly _adorable way_.

The little girl had used the wandering souls around her to block the way between her and the future deceased. Normally, this young hybrid should have died today. But given the child's act of insolence, she couldn't help but make an exception.

The little girl gave her a glare before rushing inside the house.

**Death smiled.**

_Her daughter_ seemed to be in great shape.

She had done well to chose that half-demon girl to carry her child for her. After all, she was Death, and **Death was not supposed to give birth**.

Death had committed an irreparable act. When she had taken human form to wander through the world of humans, she ran into her ex-boyfriend.

The God of Destruction.

This alley cat had abandoned her to run after the _Goddess of Creation_.  
However, she was in a playful mood. The Cat quickly fell into her trap, and they spent some quality time together.  
Alas... She probably should have returned to her God of Death form, rather than playing around with the God of Destruction in human form.

**The impossible happens.**

An Accident.

A mistake.

**Life took shape in her.**

Death knew full well that this child would be an abomination in the eyes of the other gods.  
The child would not only be immortal but would possess the essence of Death and Destruction.

A mixture of incomparable power.

An extremely dangerous combination.

So, in the hope of hiding her secret, Death roamed the dimensions to find _a creature_ powerful enough to carry the child for her.  
She found her happiness on earth.  
A half-demon teenage girl (daughter of her nephew Trigon) who was having an affair with a forbidden fruit (the kid had Lazarus Residue in him, in other words, this brat had the essence of the God of Destruction **and** the Goddess of Creation).

**It was perfect.**

Death then changed the nature of the baby, so that it took on a human form. So the gods could not feel the baby's presence.

It had been years now...

**To Death's greatest amusement, no one had yet realized _the trick_.**

Death couldn't wait to see how this story would end.

She was beginning to enjoy the mess.

She had definitely spent too much time with Plagg.

-XxxX-

"Jon... What you're saying is impossible... Damian is dead."  
"I saw him. I'm sure he's the one who saved me! Well, him and... the weird little girl... "

Clark looked at his son as if he had gone crazy. Kon, who was also present, had listened to the exchange in silence. He felt extremely uncomfortable, but seeing his little brother so agitated made his heart ache.

Tim was definitely going to kill him.

"Hmm... I think Jon is right... About Damian..."

His "father" and his little brother turned to him at the same time.

"Tim... told me the other day that Damian had visited the Manor."

He saw Clark frown. And most importantly, he saw Jon's eyes widen in shock.

"W-What?"  
" Tim also said that Damian had a daughter."  
"HE HAS WHAT?!"

Clark was the one who reacted the most vocally.

Jon, on the other hand, looked at him with his mouth wide open.

"Then... the little girl..."  
"She was probably his daughter. It also means that you were somewhere in Greece. Apparently, he lives nearby."

Jon's amazement quickly gave way to anger.

Was Damian alive all this time?

**How could he have done such a thing to him?!**

All these years, he had felt guilty about his disappearance.

All those times he had cried over his missing friend...

All this for nothing?

He was living his life quietly elsewhere and had even _started a family_?!

Jon made himself a promise.

**He was going to gut Damian.**

* * *

\- For those who didn't understand it, "Death" in this story corresponds to "Sabine Cheng" ;).

**I can FINALLY tell you about it!**

Here's how each story works:  
Two "Marinette" are biological kids.  
Two "Marinette" are adopted kids.

\- Each Marinette corresponds to a character trait of the "Original Marinette", but amplified.

\- Each story works by "peer". This means that one story is the perfect mirror of the other but in a negative way. (It's up to you to find out which ones are linked xD)


	21. Chapter 21: BONUS CHAPTER

While waiting for the next chapters to come out, I offer you a series of little bonuses that I have written to pass the time.

* * *

**DADDY DICK: **

**(Marinette, 7 years old)**

Marinette always says what's on her mind, which sometimes causes serious problems for Dick. Here are a few small examples from Dick's daily life:

**1/**Marinette accompanied Dick to the police station because it was the special "bring your child to work" day. One of Dick's co-workers has been trying to flirt with him for several days. That day Marinette witnessed the scene. Trying to put on a good face, she tries to introduce herself to Marinette.

"Hello Marinette, I hope we can be good friends. "

"I don't want to be your friend."

"Is that so? Why?"

"I'm not friends with b*tches."

"..."

"MARINETTE!"

In the distance, Dick could hear the hysterical laughter of his colleagues, while Marinette stuck her tongue out at the young woman, then proudly left for back to Dick's office.

Strangely enough, no one dared to flirt with Dick after this event.

**2/**Dick was having dinner with his family. Jason had Marinette on his lap and was doing her hair. Alfred was talking with Marinette.

"So Marinette, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"I don't know… *confuse* I'm not a plant..."

"I meant when you become an adult."

"Oh... I want to be rich!"

"Ooh, why is that?"

"So I can give my job to others like Grandpa, and make money without moving out of my cave!"

"..."

Bruce choked on his coffee and Jason started laughing.

Dick was starting to seriously worry about his daughter's future.

**DADDY JASON: ** **  
**  
(Inspired by the failures of Amazon Alexa on youtube.)

When Marinette was three years old, Dick had the good idea to bring a connected speaker to Jason's house. Tim was with them that day.

Marinette was having fun with the speaker. But she still didn't speak very well and sometimes she didn't formulate her sentences well.

"Alexa, Pi-Pi wants Pop Corn."

and the speaker answered:

"Initializing a Pop _ Porn _ playlist."

Dick, Tim and Jason cried out at practically the same time.

"WHAT?!"

" HEEH?!"

"NO!"

The three of them jumped on the speaker and managed to unplug it before the playlist started.

Marinette looked at them curiously.

"What's Pop Porn?"

"..."

The connected speakers were now banned from the house.

**DADDY TIM: **

Bruce is worried because he hasn't heard from Tim in the last three days. So he sends Damian to Tim and Marinette's house to see if everything is okay.

Upon entering the room, he discovers Tim dressed as a giant bee and Marinette in a rabbit disguise, dancing and singing over a full cup of coffee.

Tim : Baby, I like it

Marinette: The way you fill our coffee cup.

Tim: Baby, I like it

Marinette : Come on and give me some more

Tim : Oh yes, I like it

Marinette : Screaming like never before

Tim : Baby, I like it

Together : I-I-I like it

Damian blinked several times. Then left the house discreetly. He took out his cell phone to call Alfred.

"Pennyworth, Get out the syringes, you were right, they haven't slept for the last three days."

Fact: When Marinette and Tim haven't been sleeping for a long time, they start singing incantations to strengthen their coffee….

...

Song : I Like It | Enrique Iglesias

**DADDY DAMIAN**:

(Inspired by The Addams Family)

Jon understood that Damian's daughter was... _ different _.

She slept a lot during the day, but was awake most of the night. She had a disturbing fascination with dissection. She loved scaring people...

But he had to admit _**that**_ was... **another stage above!**

It was an early evening, and Marinette had had the idea of building a strange machine in the garden. To Jon's amazement, there was a dead crow on a tray in the middle of the strange machine.

Marinette operated a lever that caused the tray to rise. When the tray reached the top of the machine, Marinette pressed a button that turned on the two bulbs that were located at the top of the machine.

The two light bulbs began to produce electricity.

Marinette raised her two little arms in the air and began to scream.

"Creature, your master orders you, **LIVE**!"

The sky suddenly darkens. And clouds formed above the machine.

"LIFE! **LIIIIIIIIFEEEEE!**"

A bolt of lightning fell on the set. Then, nothing more. The sky returned to normal and the machine shut down.

The tray went down.

Jon felt his jaw drop when the dead crow straightened up and began to fly around the machine. The crow then sat on Marinette's head.

Damian chooses this precise moment to appear. Marinette ran immediately to her father, excited.

"Father, look, I did it! I have a zombie crow now! I decided to call her Elizabeth."

Damian looked at his daughter, then looked at the crow. The crow began to fly through the air. Damian just patted his daughter's head.

"That's great Angel. Put your stuff away, we're going to eat in five minutes."

"Okay."

Damian then turned to him. He was clearly amused by the situation.

"Today is a Friday 13th, apparently, the chances of creating a zombie are higher on Friday 13th... So, are you staying for dinner?"

"No... I'm... going home. See you later Damian."

Jon left very quickly, before Damian's strange kid decided to test her experiments on _ him _.


	22. Chapter 22: Daddy Dick

I have a huge thanks to my betareader, BabyClara.  
She's the Best!

* * *

**Chapter: Daddy's girl (Dick)**

Sometimes Dick would really like Marinette to be less... "Marinette".

He had been watching Marinette rehearse her role in a school play for several weeks. She had gotten the lead role of the princess.  
It was a classic story, where the princess was kidnapped by an evil dragon and then rescued by an handsome prince.

Alfred was kind enough to sew a costume for Marinette.

Everything was going well.

Then came the day of the performance.  
Bruce couldn't make it, but Alfred was there to film everything. Jason was there too.

The only problem was that the little boy who was supposed to play the prince had stage fright. He was stuck in front of the "dragon" and didn't seem to be ready to say his line. The poor boy was on the verge of tears.

It was at that moment that everything changed.

Marinette entered the scene.

"You know what? I don't need a prince; I'm going to save myself! I'M NOT GOING TO BE INTIMIDATED BY A LIZARD!"

She snatched the sword from the hands of the "prince" and stood in front of the dragon.

"It's okay Marc, get back, I'll take care of him!"

The little boy was visibly surprised but backed off as Marinette asked him.  
Marinette began to hit the "dragon" on the head with the wooden sword.

"HEY! OUCH!"

Scared, the little boy playing the dragon started to run away and Marinette, in her little princess dress, was on his tail.

"COME BACK HERE! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!"  
"HELP!"

It was total chaos.

Dick had his mouth open like a fish. At his side, Jason held his ribs as he laughed so hard. All the parents in the room started to laugh, and even the children on the stage playing trees and little flowers started to chuckle.  
The little boy, playing the prince, had also started to giggle.

The poor little dragon ended up on the floor, with Marinette, who had one foot on his back. She raised her sword in the air, proud to have "defeated" the "dragon".

In the end, instead of "living happily ever after" with the prince, Marinette found herself crowned Queen of the kingdom, and the prince decided to give up the throne to become a flower merchant.

Dick prepared mentally for the headache he would get the next day at work. Several of his colleagues were also parents and had their children playing in the act.

Why did Marinette have to be so chaotic?

Amy was going to bother him with this story till his deathbed!

While Jason went to congratulate Marinette for her performance, Alfred took the opportunity to take him aside. He explained that there was a problem between Bruce and Jason, and that he was afraid the teenager would do something stupid.

Dick sighed again.

He was going to have to go and fix some of Bruce's crap again...

-XxxX-

Jason was feeling much better. He was terribly angry with Bruce though. Earlier in the week, a young woman had committed suicide after learning that the man who had assaulted her was going to get away with it because of his social status. Jason had wanted to confront the assaulter, who, no doubt frightened by Jason in his Robin uniform, fell from his balcony.

Bruce had had the nerve to say that Jason pushed him!

He hadn't spoken to Bruce since.

In the meantime, Jason had discovered that Catherine Todd was not his biological mother. His biological mother's name was Sheila. He was planning to go looking for his birth mother.

The only reason he hadn't left yet was because he had promised little Cupcake that he would be there for her first performance. He loved the little girl like a little sister and did not want to disappoint her. Unlike Bruce, who put Batman before everything else, even his family, who, while he, Alfred and Dick were present for the performance of Marinette, was God knows where, as Batman, chasing criminals.

Sometimes Jason would really like Bruce to be a little more like Dick... At least he put his daughter before everything else!

Jason had great respect for Dick. The guy was a policeman by day, and at night he fought criminals as Nightwing, yet he still found time to take care of a little girl. What was his secret?

Jason admired Dick. But he also disliked him a lot. Jason was tired of being constantly compared to him, always referred as "a poor substitute". He had even dyed his hair black, under Bruce's advice...

Then there was Marinette.

Jason loved her very much. But... He was also jealous of the kid. She had everything he wanted. A father who loved her, friends, she had that little something that made everyone love her... She even had Bruce's attention.

**He loved Marinette just as much as he hated her.**

"Jay-Jay, are you okay?"  
"Uh? what?"  
"You look sad."  
"I'm... I'm fine."

He didn't realize that he' d been staring into the void for several minutes. Jason was with Marinette in Dick's apartment. Dick had gone out on patrol as Nightwing, and Jason had stayed with Marinette.

Marinette looked at him for a moment. She got up quickly and rushed into the kitchen. She came back with a jar of ice cream and two spoons. She put the jar in front of him.

"It's Grandpa, isn't it? He was mean to you."

Jason frowned.

"I heard Alfred when he was talking to Dad. Grandpa was mean... Daddy wasn't happy."

So that's why Dick insisted that he spend the night at home, rather than let him come back to the Manor. He thought he only wanted to have a baby-sitter for Marinette...

"Daddy said that Grandpa also lost his mommy and daddy when he was little, and that Grandpa never forgot... That's why he became a vampire!"  
"Hmm."

Marinette took some ice cream with the help of her spoon and put it in her mouth.

"Grandpa and Daddy aren't talking with each other anymore."  
"Hmm."

The teenager dipped his spoon in the ice cream and started eating too.

Jason already knew about the arguments.

He had already heard them arguing several times. Bruce criticized Dick for not taking his role as Nightwing seriously. And Dick had replied that he took his role seriously, but that he did not have the same priorities. The first Robin had made it clear to Bruce that for him, his daughter came first. This was in direct opposition to Bruce's "mission first" philosophy.

"Daddy said that if Grandpa didn't stop this nonsense, he was going to adopt you as well Jay-Jay."

Jason spit out his ice cream.

All right. He didn't see that one coming.

"What?!"  
"You don't want it?"

Jason honestly didn't know what to say. Would Dick… be willing to fight Bruce for him?

Would he?!

If it had been someone else who gave him this information, he would have doubted. But it was Marinette who was talking to him. And if there was one thing he knew about Marinette, it was that the girl always told the truth, even when the truth in question was not to her advantage.

But…

Jason really loved Bruce… He loved being Robin… Bruce was a kind of savior to him and Alfred was like a grandfather… Bruce took him off the street, gave him a home, a purpose in life.

On the other hand… Bruce was not the warmest person he knew.

"Jay-Jay?"

Jason looked up at Marinette. She was smiling at him.

"Jay-Jay really loves Grandpa, doesn't he?"

"..."

"Grandpa is Jay-Jay's daddy, just like Dick is my daddy."

"Hmm..."

Bruce... his dad?

Yes... Probably... Bruce was like a father...

Jason started yawning, he was really sleepy.

"Grandpa loves Jay-Jay too! He's mean because he's afraid of losing Jay-Jay."

"..."

"Grandpa's... He's like a big baby. He's afraid to have his pacifier removed."

"... Huh? What?! ..."

He wasn't sure he wanted to have the image of Bruce with a pacifier engraved in his mind.

"Come on Jay-Jay, we have to go to sleep now!"

Jason got up, mechanically, and followed Marinette to her room.

He quickly fell asleep with the little one in his arms.

The next day, Bruce came back with news that he had found his biological mother. Alfred then confided to Jason that if Bruce had wandered away, it was simply because he was looking for Jason's mother. Bruce even had the decency to apologize to Jason.

Jason accepted the apology, and chose to return to the Manor with Bruce. He would talk to his birth mother later.

Maybe he was just clinging to a false hope... However, he would rather take the risk of staying with Bruce than leaving with Dick.

He wasn't sure he wanted a sticky dad like Dick... Besides, he didn't want to compete with Marinette for his father's affection.

He and Bruce were so absorbed in their exchange that neither of them realized the knowing smile that Dick and Marinette exchanged.

-XxxX-

Dick really needed to talk to Bruce, but he was afraid to leave Jason unsupervised. Barbara had notified him that Jason was indeed about to make a huge mistake. He had secretly bought a plane ticket to try to find his birth mother.

He then had the idea to entrust the surveillance of Jason to Marinette.

And she had played her part brilliantly. She even managed to give him a sleeping pill on the sly! Dick was certain that Jason hadn't noticed that Marinette had tricked the ice cream jar.

No one ever mistrusted Marinette because she was small and always smiling. The fact that she always told the truth made people think she was "stupid ".

Those people were wrong.

Because being "cute" was Marinette's weapon.

Because she was cute, people let their guard down. (Including Bruce...)

Dick remembered a conversation he had had with his daughter a few days before her performance at the school.

"Dad, how do you always get useful information at your work? Auntie Amy said you're the best at it!"  
"Really? Auntie Amy said that?"  
"Yes! And also she said that Daddy was a slutty dater! But I don't know what that means..."  
"I guess I didn't need to know that last part... Anyway, to answer you, I just tell people what they want to hear, and they'll give you the information you need, with the least amount of effort possible."  
"Oh... But that means daddy has to lie..."  
"Not necessarily Sunshine. If I don't tell everything, I don't lie. If I beat around the bush, I don't lie either. If I let people make up their own minds, that's not a lie too.  
"Hmmmmmm... Okay."

Dick smiles as he recalls the scene.  
Marinette was still very young... If she had tricked Jason, it was only because she was very obedient. Dick had told her to neutralize Jason, and she did. However, the mere fact that she managed to give Jason the sleeping pill without him realizing it was a feat.

Marinette had potential...

**And Dick was very proud of his baby.**

* * *

\- Petite Marinette may not be as innocent as we think xD!

\- Normally, Jason should have died in this chapter... But at the last moment, I decided to change my mind.  
"Death in the Family" doesn't need to happen right away... Or even take place at all, anyway...

Next story: Special episode Marinette vs Lila! (After this "Daddy's girl" part of course ^^)


	23. Chapter 23: Daddy Jay

Very important chapter, which serves as an introduction to the special chapter "Marinette vs Lila".

A huge thank you to my BabyClara beta-reader. She does a titanic job... ;)

* * *

**Chapter: Daddy's Girl (Jason)**

In general, if Todd's family acquaintances were asked what they thought of Marinette, most of them would answer: "shy" followed by "clumsy.".  
Which was absolutely TRUE.  
However, all these nice little people tended to forget one detail. A detail of a very big, extremely important fact: Marinette was Jason Todd's biological daughter.  
This meant one thing that was not to be forgotten with this "shy" and "clumsy" little girl.  
She was certainly a little kitten. But she was a wild kitten... A kitten of a very dangerous species.  
Tim was being dramatic?  
No absolutely not.  
He had several situations in mind that perfectly illustrated what he was saying.

Once, as a favor to Jason, Bruce and Tim volunteered to go to the grocery store for him. He was in the middle of an exam week. To their surprise, Jason didn't give them a list of groceries, but he did give them a strange instruction.  
"Just follow Pixie's instructions, she knows what to take."  
Bruce and Tim didn't bother to understand what Jason was saying and left with Marinette to go to the supermarket.  
When they arrived at the market, Marinette gave each of them a small list. She also had her own piece of paper. Tim went his own way while Bruce stayed with Marinette. When he came back, he realized that there was still nothing in the cart. Intrigued, he moved closer.  
"Gramps, what are you doing?!"  
"I'm taking mustard."  
"Exactly! Gramps we don't take anything without looking at the price first!"  
"Hmm. It costs $7.41."

"Is it not good?"  
"Gramps... You've never done the grocery run by yourself before, right?"

"Hmm. You know, you shouldn't let Grandpa Alfred do everything for you, you have to learn how to get by on your own in life."

"That's okay. Just this once, do what I tell you to do, okay?"

Tim discreetly went back to check the prices of the items he had taken. (He must have changed more than half of them)  
[Jason cried with laughter when Marinette came home from the supermarket, outraged because Bruce had tried to pay for the groceries instead of using the money Jason had given her].

The teenager will never forget this movie session either.  
Dick wanted to do a Disney Marathon, because he wanted Marinette to know the "classics". The first movie was The Lion King.  
"... Can a brother marry his sister?..."  
"Uh... No, why?"  
"I read a book about lions at school. Lions live in families, and all the females help raise the babies."  
"Okay?"  
"But there were two dominant males. Mufasa and Scar. That means that Nala is either Simba's sister or cousin... that means he made a baby with his sister... or his cousin."

"And then... Why do the animals all gather around the lions to greet their new baby, if the lions eat them?"

"And, uh... Simba, wasn't he having, like, a big breakdown? Yeah, because... looking up at the sky and seeing his dead dad's face, it's not really normal, actually..."

"Uncle Ric? Are you okay? You look funny..."

Tim decided to intervene. It would be easier to distract Marinette with another activity than to explain to her that she had just ruined Dick's childhood.  
"You know what, Pixie, how about playing Monopoly?"  
[Jason laughed maniacally for twenty minutes after Tim told him about it].

Then there was that time Jason was called to school because she had made her whole class cry. The reason? She had explained to her teacher from A to Z, that no. Santa Claus didn't exist. But it was in front of her whole class and there were several children who still believed in Santa Claus...  
"I still don't understand what I did wrong. It's the pure truth."  
"I know, baby, it's just... not all truths can be told."  
"Then what?! I have to agree to listen all day, that some old pervert comes into people's houses and only gives presents to kids?I refuse to be part of this glamorization of pedophilia!"  
"... Where did you learn the word " glamorization "?..."  
"Seriously Jason?! Is that all you're worried about right now?!" [Tim]

Dick chooses this moment to enter the room.  
"Hey, you come help me decorate the tree, Pixie, so Santa Claus will be so impressed that he'll give you the best gift."

Jason and Tim exchanged looks. They had both forgotten that detail, Dick still believed in Santa Claus.  
Marinette squinted.  
"Uncle Ric... Come here and have a sit, we need to talk."  
"Marinette, NO!" [Jason]  
"Marinette, YES!"

Once again, Tim came to save the day by taking Dick far… far away from Jason's apartment.

Then there was this time, when Jason called Bruce, a little distraught. Tim was there, training, but he was still listening discreetly.  
"Bruce, I need... an opinion."  
"Is everything alright?"  
"Yes and No... Marinette got suspended from school today. And... I really don't know if I should punish her or not."  
"Marinette? Suspended? What's happened?"

Jason sighed.

"Apparently, there was a group of older kids bothering another boy in Marinette's class. From what I understand, these older kids love bothering the younger ones."  
"Hm-Hm. Marinette intervened?"  
"That's right, she did."  
"What did she do?"  
"She broke their noses... with... her history book..."

"The thing is, apparently one of the kids has a powerful father. So the director is a little freaked out. She wanted Marinette to apologize and..."

There was a silence.

"And?"  
"She got up from her chair, pointed her finger at the director and said, "I am not a coward! I don't care who his parents are! If he or anyone else hurts someone in front of me, I will hit him again, until he learns to respect others! And the next time, it won't be a history book in his face, but a FUCK*** DICTIONARY!" Bruce... I have tears in my eyes!... I'm so proud of my baby!"

"Bruce, I don't know what to do. How can I punish her when I'm proud of her? How?!"

Tim, on the other hand, couldn't help but have a little smirk on his face.  
Like father, like daughter.

-XxxX-

Marinette woke up in the middle of the night. She was very thirsty, so she decided to go into the kitchen to drink some water.  
She drank her glass of water, but something caught her attention. She had heard a strange noise coming from the terrace.  
Curious, Marinette opened the living room window that looked out onto the terrace to see outside. She went around the terrace, but there was nothing there. She went back inside and closed the window.  
At that very moment, she noticed that there was a package on the coffee table. It was a small package wrapped in orange and black paper.  
The little girl felt a shiver run down her whole body. She took the package and went back to her room. On the way, she made sure her daddy was asleep.  
She then went to her room, closed the door behind her, and went to her bed to open the package.  
Inside there were three pictures and a note.  
The photos showed the three boys who had annoyed her friend, crying, tied up, with their family in tears.

Oh...

Then on the little note there was just written a few words.

"Well done, little flower."

Marinette gulped.

_Grandpa_ Slade was really... a strange person...

_"Little owl... This man is very dangerous, you shouldn't accept his gifts."_

The little girl looked at her imaginary friend. (She was the only one who was able to see him.)

It was a small white owl with minnow eyes (one blue eye and one yellow eye), with black wingtips, and black eye outline.

Marinette wasn't sure why, but since she was a baby, she was able to see this little creature. Creature that was her best friend.  
_"You should tell Mr. Jason about it."_  
"I can't. Daddy will be even more worried. He' s already paranoid by nature..."  
The small owl sighed.  
_"Marinette, fear is a leprosy that consumes the body. The only way to get rid of it is to get rid of the affected limb. Control the fear before it controls you, little owl."_  
Marinette says nothing. The tiny owl was right.  
But unfortunately for her, "courageous" was not a quality that was part of her temperament. If earlier in the week she had hit the boys who were annoying poor Nathaniel, it was only out of anger.  
She tore up the pictures and threw them in the garbage and went back to bed. However, she couldn't go back to sleep, she was afraid that her evil Grandfather would come and take her while she was sleeping.  
Marinette got up and went to take refuge in her father's room. She knocked on the door several times and entered. Her father stood up, his hair in a mess, rubbing his eyes with one hand.  
"Marinette?"  
"Daddy, I had a nightmare."  
"Hmmm. Come here."  
Marinette settled down next to her father. He covered her with his blanket and put his arm around her to bring her closer to his chest. Her daddy had a comforting smell, and the bed was all warm and cozy.

Yep, now she felt safe.  
She was finally going to be able to sleep.

_"Good night Shërii."_  
_"Good night, little owl."_

* * *

**A/N: **

So, for this story, I decided that Marinette would have a Miraculous from the native American Miracle Box (the one Liiri is from, in the movie "Miraculous New York"). I had already planned that for this story, I would use an original Miraculous. This movie gave me some ideas.

So "Shërii" is the _Owl Kwami_. His name comes from the Albanian word "Shërimin" which means "Healing".

In this AU, Shërii gives the power of "healing". In other words: allows to heal any wound, even mortal ones. On the other hand, a dead person cannot be resurrected. Indeed, in this AU, there is a Kwami of Death (Muurte) and a Kwami of Life (Liffa). These two Kwamis are special. They do not possess jewels. The difference between Liffa and Tikki is that Tikki can create objects, but cannot give life. By contrast, Liffa can only create living beings, but cannot create inanimate objects.

However, there is a _counterpart_. **Whoever wears the Miraculous Owl is unlucky**. In Marinette's case, her "clumsiness" is not "normal". It is because of the presence of Shërii!

It so happens that in this AU,** Shërii is the one who created the Lazarus' pits**! He is the very essence of the pit.

So, to give a story: The miraculous of Shërii was destroyed a long time ago by a man who wanted to attain immortality. It did not work, but it gave birth to the Lazarus' pits. For centuries the spirit of Shërii had been a prisoner of the waters of the Lazarus pit. Then one day, Talia threw Jason into the pit. Only half of Jason's soul had returned to his body. That's why he was in a zombie state. Since Jason was an "incomplete" being, Shërii's soul merged with Jason's soul. Alas, Shërii did not enjoy this event at all and his soul came into conflict with Jason's soul. That was why Jason was also emotionally unstable, because his body rejected Sherii's soul. Time passed and Jason had a romance with Rose Wilson, who became pregnant. At that moment, Shërii's soul fragment found itself merging with the baby's soul.

Jason didn't realize it, but he regained control of his emotions after leaving Rose. He was no longer influenced by the waters of The Lazarus' pit.

Shërii, who watched Marinette grow up, became very attached to the little girl and treated her as if she were his baby owl.

You will learn more about Shërii in the special chapter, and throughout the following chapters ;)

* * *

A/N 2:

\- Small precision. Shërii communicates with Marinette using telepathy. This is why, when Shërii speaks with Marinette, the text is in italics.  
\- Now you know who helped Marinette steal in the "Innocence" chapter.  
\- The owl is a creature that can either be seen as a messenger from the underworld or as a harbinger of bad omen, sometime as a messenger. One of the conceptions that native Americans have of the owl is that it allows them to be clairvoyant. To see the true from the false... If you see what I mean :D


	24. Chapter 24: Daddy Tim

\- Chapter a little more serious than usual. I hope you will still enjoy it.

\- It is a crucial chapter, which serves as an introduction to the "Marinette vs Lila" special.

This chapter is the first of a series of three key chapters. The second being the special "Marinette vs Lila" . The chapter after the special will be entitled "*Happy Birthday*" and will serve as an epilogue to the "series". This is a special feature only of the AU "Daddy Tim".

* * *

**Chapter: Daddy's girl (Tim)**

Tim should have known that Marinette would end up developing his " workaholic " side... And his insomnia side as well.

He found himself having to return to San Francisco because his team needed him for a mission. Unfortunately, the mission in question had been extended for too long. A three-day mission had turned into a one-week mission.

It was now three o'clock in the morning.

Tim had returned to Wayne Manor, where he had left Marinette since it was out of question to leave her alone in their house for a week. (Even though she was more than capable of taking care of herself... Marinette was not a fighter, and Tim was convinced that the day he would leave her alone, someone or something would hurt her - no, he wasn't paranoid, just cautious-).

So, Tim came by to take a look at Marinette's room. He did it out of habit. He couldn't go to bed without first making sure that she was safe and sound in the house (he would also do it before going on patrol... And sometimes he would also check to see if she was at school... - NO, HE WAS NOT PARANOIC!-).

That's where he found her, sitting in front of three computers, frantically typing on all the keyboards like a possessed soul.

"Marinette?"

"Hello father, you're back already? You made it quick."

She was talking while continuing to type on the keyboards. She hadn't even looked up to see him.

"Peanuts, it's three am. You should be asleep... What are you doing?"

"Sleeping? Sleeping, you say?! **SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK**!"

This time she looked up at him.

She had huge dark circles. Her eyes were slightly red.

"Marinette... When was the last time you slept?"

"Is it still Tuesday?"

"Marinette... It's Saturday."

"Oh?"

There was silence. Tim was staring at Marinette, and she was staring at him too. He hadn't slept for the last four days... He was extremely tired.

"Peanuts... turn it off, let's go to sleep..."

"NO! I haven't finished the reports for WE! I haven't finished my presentation for tomorrow. I have to finish writing the contract for the publicity I will do with the Agreste branch!"

"Marinette, tomorrow is Sunday. Monday you only have class in the afternoon. And it's not up to you to do the reports for WE, I've already told you that several times..."

"Bruce left for Germany earlier this week. Damian is busy with his new team, and you're also busy... Someone has to take care of WE!"

Tim sighed.

He took the computers away from her. Marinette immediately started protesting, but he ignored her screams and complaints. He dropped himself on the bed and grabbed Marinette to hold her close to him. She struggled for a good ten minutes.

Then she finally stopped moving.

Tim let go of her when he heard her breathing get easier.

Eventually, he fell asleep too.

[both only woke up on Sunday afternoon].

**A few days later.**

Tim had returned from patrol a little later than usual. He came home as discreetly as possible, so he wouldn't wake up Marinette, and especially the fox Alya. (This vixen was a drama queen and would squeak as soon as she saw someone, to get attention).

However, to his surprise, Marinette was awake, eating a huge jar of ice cream in the living room. She was watching a romantic movie on television.

Tim immediately realized that something was wrong. Marinette hated romantic movies, which she found "stupid" and a real "incitement to sexism and an incitement to patriarchy".

"Marinette? Why are you awake at this hour?"

Marinette was startled, surprised to see him. She quickly recovered.

"Good evening, Father. I'm sorry, I didn't see the time... I made coffee; do you want some?"

"Gladly, yes."

He left to change quickly. Meanwhile, Marinette made him a huge cup of coffee. When he returned, he drank a few sips of his drink. Marinette continued to eat her ice cream.

"So? What happened today that made you in such a bad mood?"

Marinette sighed. She looked at her ice cream pot for a long time, searching for her words.

"Do you remember Mar'i? Richard's daughter?"

"Yes, I do."

"She has fun telling other people things about me..."

"What do you mean?"

"Damian had already told me about it. He was angry with her because apparently Mar'i would take all the credit for my work. The investigations that I helped Damian solve, she told Bruce that she was the one who helped him. She tells other young heroes that I am bad to her, when I never did anything to her, she' s the one who stole my stuff... Damian wanted to defend me, but nobody wants to believe him."

She put a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.

"I went to the manor today, I needed to speak with Alfred to see if he would be willing to have my gifts sent to the manor, just for safety, as my birthday is coming up soon. And there was a meeting of the new Teen Titans. When I greeted them, they were cold with me. I acted as if nothing had happened. Then before I left, I heard a conversation... "

Marinette took a break. She seemed unsure whether or not to continue the conversation. After taking another bite of her ice cream, she continued.

"According to them, I'm just a pampered, spoiled, good-for-nothing, fickle and haughty daddy's daughter. That I wasn't even part of the community of heroes, that I wasn't even a part of being on the field... That it was pathetic, and that it was not surprising that Batman hated me."

There was silence in the room. Tim said nothing. That was not surprising to him. In fact, he had already heard rumors about Marinette. Of course, no one ever spoke in front of him, it was often Kon or other of his friends from Young Justice who brought him the "news".

He wished Marinette hadn't known about those stupid rumors. Tim would have liked to have been able to deal with them before she knew about them. He should have known that Mar'i was behind these rumors... This kid really needed to find an occupation (other than bothering Marinette).

It was an extremely low level of manners. What had she gained by behaving like that? Tim knew that Bruce didn't trust Mar'i as much anymore. Damian **hated** her... and Tim... he didn't hate her. But he didn't love her either.

"You know father, she's right about a few things. I'm my daddy's daughter, I'm temperamental... But I don't care about any of that. I don't understand what makes her think Bruce hates me... I know it's not true. He's just... not very good with people..."

"Hmm."

"I don't understand her motivation. She's just as "spoiled" as I am. She says I'm a good-for-nothing when she spends her life _hanging out with her friends_ and treats the vigilante job like it's a _vacation club._"

Marinette finally looked him in the eye.

"Mar'i is just taking advantage of Bruce and her parents' reputation. **She hasn't accomplished anything**. So, I just wondered why she hated me so much."

Tim was silent for a moment. He, too, would like to understand why Mar'i was acting this way. He was sure that Dick had never taught her to behave like that.

"Father... I've had enough. This has gone too far..."

"Hmm."

Tim watched Marinette now pour herself a cup of tea. He didn't know Dick's daughter's motives. But he knew Marinette very well.

"I guess you already have a plan in mind, don't you, Peanuts?"

Marinette looked at him with a malicious smile.

Tim smiled back at her. Marinette was no longer a baby; she had grown up. She avoids conflict as much as possible. For his little Peanuts to decide to take action, she was really angry.

He almost felt sorry for Mar'i.

Almost.

**Two months later, Wayne Manor.**

"Bruce, I have a work assignment in history. I have to introduce an influential family that changed history. I thought I could talk about the Wayne family. Could you tell me a little bit more about the family' s history?"

"Of course."

Damian listened to the conversation without saying anything. He did his best not to change his facial expression. Drake was well aware of the history of the Wayne family. They had even discussed it a few times before.

The teenager had already realized that Drake had been spending a lot of time with his father recently. He didn't blame her; instead, he was quite surprised that she was trying to connect with his father, after the more than questionable behavior he had had with her.

Perhaps it was in the nature of the Drake to forgive easily?

In any case, he could affirm without exaggeration, that his father appreciated his _niece's_ presence. It was a perfectly justified sentiment. Drake was excellent companion. It felt good to have someone who took her heritage so seriously, and who did her best not to dishonor the family name.

It was interesting for him to have someone of his level to talk to.

Damian had heard Drake (the father) say that Drake (the daughter) had won a contest organized by her school' s management department. She had apparently received the congratulations of the judges. He had taken a look at her project. He'd been impressed by the quality of the project.

**This convinced him that Drake deserved to be named _Wayne_. **

Damian wasn't surprised to learn that his father wanted to formally introduce Drake as his granddaughter at a gala event. He was curious to see Drake's reaction when she found out. Ideally, the announcement would be made on Drake's birthday, a few months from now.

After that day, Drake would officially become the heir of _Wayne Corporation_.

Damian had long since chosen not to inherit the family business. He had no desire to follow the path that his grandfather and mother had laid out for him. So, Batman's son was more than happy to see someone else take this responsibility for him.

And if that person was Drake... he could accept it without too much effort.

-XxxX-

Dick had somehow slipped into a parallel world without realizing it.

When he returned to the Manor, the first thing he noticed was that _little Marinette_ was in Bruce's lap. She had a stuffed toy in her arms (a stuffed toy with diamond eyes, a bow with a ruby hanging over it and a small cape with a small sapphire hanging over it) Damian was present, and didn't seem at all disturbed by the scene unfolding before his eyes. It was quite amazing; he was so possessive towards Bruce.

What had happened during his few months of absence?

He couldn't come to the Manor as regularly as he would like because of his work. Also, Kori was a model, so she couldn't leave her job as easily as she wanted to.

He didn't expect to see a smiling Bruce with Marinette in his arms at all.

Dick smiles.

He was happy that his family could get along so well. The two of them had finally managed to break the ice.

Mar'i, beside him, was so happy to get back to the Manor that she threw herself at Bruce. Unfortunately, she pushed Marinette aside as she passed by.

"Grandpa!"

Luckily, Bruce had excellent reflexes, and he managed to catch Marinette before she fell to the floor and helped her sit in the chair beside him.

"Hello Mar'i."

Mar'i smiled and sat on Bruce's lap, **exactly where Marinette had been a few seconds earlier**.

Dick frowned.

He was going to have to talk to Mar'i a little bit later, this was not the way to behave, especially with a younger family member.

He looked over to his side. Tim had just come back from his job at WE. He had also seen the scene. Dick expected the worst, Tim used to be _a dragon_ when it concerned his daughter's protection (and he was far from blaming him, he used to do the same with his little princess).

To his surprise, however, Tim pretended he didn't see anything and approached Marinette. Marinette calmly got out of her chair and walked towards Tim.

She bowed slightly, one foot slightly back, the other in front, while lifting the end of her little dress.

"Hello, Father. I hope you had a good day."

"Hello, Marinette. Are you all right?"

Marinette straightened up, very straight, then joining her little hands, she answered by tilting her head slightly.

"I'm doing _the best I can_, father."

Tim smiled, then affectionately passed his hand over his daughter's head.

"I'm glad."

Dick was extremely perplexed by the exchange. He felt as if he was seeing a dialogue between Damian and Bruce. He had always found their exchanges a little... cold... very impersonal.

Dick was surprised. Tim was very close to his daughter (he had heard from Steph that Tim always brought several gifts for Marinette when he returned from a long mission). It was strange that Tim had taught his daughter the high society values, when he had always hated them himself.

Tim wanted to go home; he had only actually come by to pick up his daughter. Alfred, however, managed to convince him to stay for dinner.

When it was time to sit down at the table, Marinette sat in the chair next to Bruce on the left, while Damian sat across from Marinette on Bruce's right. The chair on the left had always been Mar'i's, but Marinette had obviously taken over that seat during their absence.

"Marinette... Why are you in my seat?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"This is my usual spot..."

"Oh? I apologize. I didn't know the seats were pre-assigned."

Marinette was going to get up to give Mar'i her seat, but Bruce's voice echoed.

"Mar'i, Marinette is already there. You can sit in another seat, honey."

"…"

Mar'i came and settled down next to him. She seemed a little troubled. Not surprisingly, she was usually the one who always had the last word. It was the first time Dick had ever seen Bruce called out Mar'i.

**Dick said nothing.**

It simply meant that Bruce had _finally_ recognized Marinette as his granddaughter, just like Mar'i.

It was not a bad thing.

Mar'i was a big girl now, so if Bruce gave his attention to Marinette, who was much younger, that was good news. At least now Tim would going to join the family more often if he didn't feel rejected.

During the meal, Dick couldn't help but notice that Marinette had some... " richy " mannerisms. She stood up straight, her back never touching the back of the chair. She ate small bites.

It was... _elegant_.

And most importantly, her table manners were the same as Bruce and Damian's. A perfect mirror.

-XxxX-

Tim was impressed.

**Marinette had managed to take Mar'i's place.**

Tim understood very well what Marinette had done.

First, she had shown Bruce that she had changed, that she was no longer a " savage " little girl.

Then, she showed Bruce her skills. And if there was one thing Bruce valued, it was talent.

Finally, she had shown that they were both from "the same social circle". By being mature, talented, and educated, she had managed to create a solid place for herself alongside Bruce.

Especially since Bruce was looking for a way to get closer to her after the latest scandal he had created.

**And Marinette understood this perfectly.**

Tim knew perfectly well that Marinette only knew the "etiquette" of high society to help him in business. In fact, if she could sit in front of a computer all day and watch videos on YouTube, she would.

So, when Bruce took him aside and announced that he was going to organize a gala for Marinette's birthday...

Tim smiled.

_That's my little Peanuts._

* * *

** BONUS: **

**Friday morning, 11:30 am** **.**

Marinette was lying slumped on her desk with her eyes closed.

_How could Superman have a child with a human woman? He's got, like... super strength, right? How did Lois manage to endure "his bullets"?_

"MISS DRAKE!"

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Marinette fell out of her chair, surprised.

The students in her class started laughing.

"How many times do I have to tell you; your table is no place to take a nap! [...]"

Her teacher began his monologue about the importance of having a full attention during class.

For the girl, it was just "blah, blah, blah".

**Marinette was not a "good" student.**

She hardly ever listened in class, spent half the hour sleeping and never took any notes. Yet, to the exasperation of her teachers (and some of her classmates), she was the top student in her class. They had already tried to trap her more than once. For example, by asking her very difficult questions, by giving her more difficult tests than the others (which by the way is illegal...), by giving her deadlines that were almost impossible to hold. Despite all this, Marinette had always managed to get away with it.

The bluenette didn't pay any more attention to her appearance when she came to class. She just made two braids on each side of her head and wore round glasses. Her hair was frequently messed up ( usually after a sleepless night which happened five days out of seven). She didn't wear jewelry, didn't perfume herself to the point of destroying the ozone layer... In short, she didn't play the game of the "rich kid" at all. (She saw no point in it. Marinette had nothing to prove to anyone).

_And then seriously, if hairstyles or even makeup made people smarter, it should be known... It would be fun when you think about it... if you became Einstein just by putting on a bit of mascara... It's a good invention idea... the "smart mascara"._

The teachers had already tried to talk to her father about it. They were complaining about her "lack of investment" in class, her constant absences, or her frequent lateness. And once again, to their despair, her father had **never** done anything about it. She had never been punished, never been reprimanded. Instead, her father had always defended her.

The reasons why her father had never said anything could be explained in several points. The first point was that her father was not a good student at that age either. He found school boring and only went to a prestigious school to please his parents. His disinterest in school only increased after he became Batman's partner.

But was he an idiot? Not at all. Her father was perhaps the smartest person on earth.

"You're supposed to be an elite class [Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah]."

Marinette blinked several times.

_Can salmon be considered light orange? Or is its dark beige? And then... Why name a color after a fish?_

The second point is that Marinette really had a very busy schedule. She was a child model, which meant that she had photoshoots (but her teachers didn't know that). She had a lot of fittings to do for different brands of children's clothing, who wanted her to be their muse (and Marinette was always surprised to find that no one recognized her in class... The only one who knew about it was Felix).

Marinette had started shooting commercials. She also had to participate in charities for Martha's Foundation. And all this in addition to her studies and homework.

"The secret of your success in this program is discipline! And that means listening carefully in class [Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah]."

_Has Damian ever stopped frowning in his life? I should ask Uncle Richard... He must know about it..._

The third and final point was simply that in addition to her busy schedule, Marinette was also taking care of some of the management of WE. She was only 7 years old, but she was in charge of the Wayne Foundation, which included Martha's Foundation and the Thomas Foundation. She was in charge of the Wayne food branch (and god what a pain in the ass that branch was...), those were the branches she was in charge of full time. But she also had a view on all the other branches of WE, even if she only looked after them on an ad hoc basis.

Apart from her father, Lucius, Damian and Bruce, nobody knew about it.

The only problem was that she was increasingly called upon to take care of the other subsidiaries of the company, also on a full-time basis. This was not because she loved the job, the only reason was that she wanted to take some of the burden off her father's shoulders.

"[ Blah, blah, blah] **Bad Example!** [Blah, blah, blah, blah]"

_Why do we say that the sun "rises" or "sets" if it never moves?! Why not, just say: the sun "appears" then "disappears"? Why do we have to work when the sun hasn't yet risen? _ _6am_ _ is not a human hour..._

Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne was a good person. Marinette will never have enough words to express how grateful she was to him for adopting her. Unfortunately, her father had no sense of preservation. He worked for WE at day, was vigilant in the evenings and at the same time looked after a group of heroes. The little girl, over time, had come to understand that her father did not work as a CEO because he liked it. Rather, the activity seemed to bore him to the point of exhaustion. If her father did it, it was only because _no one else could do it_.

Richard was running away from WE like the plague. Besides, he was already working as a policeman. (Which was a shame, with his charisma, he could have made the family business flourish).

Jason was not interested in the business community, and he did not have the educational qualifications required for the position. (Although, according to Marinette, he had the ability to do so).

Cassandra was a fighter, not a businesswoman. Like Jason, she was not academically qualified. (Yet, with her intelligence and charisma, she would be an absolute winner!).

Damian was far too young at the time, and now he's no longer interested in his father's legacy. Today Damian's goal was rather to create his own legend, far from his father's shadow (And heaven knows that he needed to build his own identity after all those terrible experiences he had lived).

Then her father was the " perfect " candidate. Alas, Marinette could affirm it: Her father liked to be a vigilant, rather than a CEO.

Bruce could come back to work full time as he used to. However, his activity as Batman took up all his time.

**And Marinette would never blame him for that.**

Far from it, she had a deep respect for Bruce. He had no choice but to embrace the darkness. Gotham was a city that needed Batman as much as Batman needed Gotham. What Marinette saw was that Bruce was far too kind and philanthropic for his own good.

"[Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah] **You've got to pull yourself together** [Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah]."

_Can Green Lanterns wash their uniforms? Because if it's always the same one that they have been using since the beginning... They must stink, right? It must be so awful... By the way... now that I think about it... Does Bruce clean his uniforms, or does he have a different one for each day of the week?!_

**Marinette wanted her father to be happy.**

That's why she chose to join this special program, which provided an accelerated educational program.

It was also why she wrote as many reports and contracts as possible for her father (and solved as many problems as possible over the phone using her father's voice).

That's why she was doing her best, to optimize and maximize the profitability of her image, so that the company would have a maximal amount of publicity.

That's why she sacrificed her free time and hours of sleep... And even her mealtimes...

She just wanted to relieve her father's burden.

Even if only a little.

All this effort was so that she could succeed him as soon as possible. And then he could devote himself entirely to vigilantism if he wanted to. Bruce could continue to be Batman without having to worry about the money coming in. The others could continue to live their lives.

It didn't matter if she had to spend the rest of her life in an office.

It didn't matter if she had to sacrifice her freedom.

**In life, choices had to be made.**

**She had already made hers.**

"Miss Drake, I'm talking to you!"

"Yes, sir."

She still had to survive those _extremely boring_ economics classes.

* * *

A/N: You haven't done hearing about Mar'i... Believe me. You found her annoying in this chapter? Don't worry, you'll learn to hate her (if it' hasn' t been done already xD).


	25. Chapter 25: Daddy Damian

I'm not a fan of the system used on this site to answer comments, the problem is that sometimes I don't have the time to answer right away and I end up forgetting to do so ... ^^"  
So I decided that now I would answer directly here.

**MoonlightMiracle**: Mar'i is special... She has her reasons for doing what she does. There is also a reason why parents don't do anything. But, you'll find that out throughout the chapters! Thank you for your support. :D **  
**

** CNCGal** : So, for the time being, no. Mar'i is not going to team up with Lila, although it would have been possible. However, it would have been an interesting idea to explore, unfortunately, it wouldn't really fit with the current scenario of this story. Thank you for taking the time to comment!

**Wrighting'GIRL3000**: So, Mar'i is not like Lila. You'll have more answers in the next Special chapter, but in this story Lila lies yes, but she has reasons to do so. Her behavior is distinct from Mar'i, who does things for other reasons. For now, the story is set in Gotham. For this Au, Marinette will be able to go to Paris, but only for professional reasons or possibly for vacation.

**I have only been able to respond to the comments in Chapter 24 at this point. But please know that I read all of your comments and thank you all very much for your support.**

* * *

This chapter marks the introduction of an important person: Danny Fenton.  
He comes from the "Danny Phantom" series, of which I'm a great fan!

Chapter less joyful than usual... You are warned.

Un grand merci à ma beta-reader BabyClara! Tu es génial!

* * *

"Marinette that was my cake!"

"Not anymore. All you had to do was eat faster."

"Give it back!"

"NOPE!"

Damian sighed.

Marinette could sometimes be unbearable when she was on a whim. He had the impression that his daughter's whims had increased since Danny had come into their lives.

"Angel, give Danny back his piece of cake, if you want some more you can get it from the fridge."

Marinette returned the piece of cake, not without complaining, and went into the kitchen to get a new piece. Danny started to eat. Damian ran his hand through the boy's hair affectionately. Danny smiled shyly at him.

It was a special morning, marking their last day in Greece. In a few hours they were to go together to the airport that would take them to America.

Damian was getting ready to return to live in the United States with his daughter and "adopted son".

**4 MONTHS AGO**

Ever since Danny had received his ghost powers, he really thought he'd seen everything. The ghost world had made him see everything. He had faced countless enemies.

Now he was confident in his abilities.

But nothing on this earth had prepared him for this.

Danny was sure that he was one of his kind. There were only two other people like him. Vlad and Dani. He never thought he would meet another person with skills similar to his.

Especially someone as devoid of empathy and common sense as this kid.

He was the youngest of his siblings. Although Danny had had Dani in his life for a while, the girl quickly became independent and soon decided to stand on her own two feet.

Now, he might have been a big brother, but he wasn't really prepared for the role.

It all started one day, when he was with his father in the basement of their house. Suddenly the gate started to ring. Danny immediately felt his body become tense. His father got up immediately and grabbed his ghost gear and pointed towards the gate.

The gate opened.

A small ghost came out of the gate. It had a black cape with a hood, which was not put on. It had ears and a cat's tail. Its eyes were completely green with bright green cat pupils. He could not see its clothes because of the cape. However, there was a kind of black mist that was escaping from its body and fluttering around the small ghost, like some kind of tentacles.

His ghostly senses were alert. This little ghost was dangerous.

"You chose to enter the wrong house, ghost!"

His father pointed his ghost gun at the little ghost and fired. The little ghost just moved slightly to the side and the shot went right past it. The small ghost looked at the spot where the laser had hit, and then slowly turned its head towards his father.

The little ghost raised an eyebrow and rolled its eyes, clearly not impressed. Then it flew away from the place without his father being able to touch them once.

Danny quickly left the room and turned into a ghost to chase the little ghost. Alas, he couldn't find the small ghost anywhere. Danny thought it was best to go home for the time being, ghosts don't stay quiet for long.

Yet, to his surprise, the little ghost appeared in his parents' lab the next day. Of course, his parents tried to stop them. Then, after a while, the small ghost disappeared.

This show went on for a whole week. Every day at the same time, the little ghost would come back, stay for a good hour and then leave again. Danny had the impression that the little ghost was playing with his parents (at least if the laughter was any indication).

The teenager began to seriously lose his patience when the little ghost began to appear in his middle school. The worst part? He was apparently the only one who could see it! His friends Tam and Tucker couldn't see the ghost. The small ghost followed him everywhere! (yes, even in the bathroom, the shower and the locker room) And the worst part? They disappeared as soon as Danny turned into a ghost!

After a while, Danny finally lost his temper and one day, when the hallway was deserted, he took the opportunity to confront this little stalker.

"What do you want from me and why are you following me?"

The little ghost looked at him silently for a moment, but finally answered.

"You are a fascinating _creature_. You have lost half your soul, and yet, instead of becoming a zombie, you have become part ghost, how did you do it?"

"What?"

"Why do you continue to live with humans when you are half immortal? Why do you hunt your ghost brothers?"

"I... Huh? My brothers?! Ghosts?!"

"This is the first time I've met someone with the same power as me. So, I want to know how you work. Hey, am I allowed to dissect you? It's just gonna sting a little at first..."

"WHAT?!"

_Okay, it's official, the little ghost is completely crazy._

"I'm a girl. I'm not crazy, I just like to know how things work."

"….."

_Oh my God, she can read minds!_

"Affirmative."

"…."

Danny was stunned as he stared at the little ghost. He was pulled from his thoughts by Mr. Lancer.

"FENTON! What are you doing in the halls?! You-"

Even before Danny had time to move, the little ghost gave a violent blow to the man's stomach and he collapsed to the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What? He was too noisy."

"You can't just hit someone like that!"

"…. Why? ..."

"Because it's wrong!"

"What does 'wrong' mean?"

"...*too shocked to say a single word*..."

After that day, Danny found himself playing babysitter with the little ghost girl. Apparently, her name was Marinette and she was looking for her biological parents. Just like him, she was half human, half ghost. However, she had certain powers that differed from his. She had a kind of destructive power, she could also teleport over short distances, read thoughts, manipulate memory, and command ghosts (just that...). Yet she couldn't throw a laser like Danny could. Nor could she create a barrier, nor absorb fanto-plasmic energy...

What struck him most was the child's lack of life skills. She had no sense of right and wrong. Nor did she understand how to live among humans.

Danny couldn't possibly explain why he let this child follow him around. The fact was, he didn't feel that this ghost was evil, just... a little out of it.

And completely unconscious.

Danny had had monumental fears because of this brat.

"Look Phantom, there's a body under the bridge."

"There's a WHAT?!"

There was indeed something that looked like a body under a bridge. Danny felt his heart miss a beat. He was genuinely shocked.

His discomfort turned to fear when he saw Marinette pull out some kind of stick and started taking a picture.

A picture... Of the...

Unbelievable... This kid really had no sense of respect!

"Marinette you-"

"It' s Lady Noir. No name on the field."

"_Mushroom_. Erase this picture right now!"

"Why would I do that? It's just a souvenir."

"Mushroom, that body was a person, and it should be treated with the utmost** respect**. Now, erase this picture."

Her cat tail wiggled from right to left quickly. Her little ears moved backwards. She was clearly upset. However, to Danny's relief, Marinette erased the photo she had just taken.

However, Danny was completely horrified by their discovery.

"Hey Phantom, can I keep this body? Hopefully we can turn it into a zombie."

"You want to- *clears throat* **NO.** No, you can't keep this person's body. We're going to call the police.

"The _what_?"

"… *doesn't know what to say*."

She began to help him in his hunt for bad ghosts.

For a year and a half, Marinette appeared every week. He and his friends were now used to seeing her. Sam introduced her to some of Jagged Stone's music, Tucker showed her how to use a computer, and he taught her how to better control her powers. And most importantly... he introduced her to video games!

However, to his dismay. The little girl did not come to see him at all now.

She disappeared.

For two years, Danny tried to find out what had happened to the little girl. Had she been captured by government agents? Had she been caught by a more powerful ghost?

He was now sixteen, almost seventeen years old.

Marinette would probably be 8 years old. Almost 9 years old...

-XxxX-

"Mommy... You tell me not to get in touch with you, to pretend I don't know you, but you come to see me regularly. I have already said that I will no longer intervene against the natural order. The Alien will be the only exception."

Death looked at her daughter, amused.

"You have become attached to this world, Little Death. It's... adorable. But I didn't come here to bring good news."

"…"

"Your "big brother" is in danger. I thought you might be interested in the information."

Seeing Little Death's state of shock, a sadistic smile appeared on Death's face.

"So... Do you still think you will respect the natural order?"

"…."

Death knew that this choice was cruel. But it was a necessary evil. Little Death was just like Death, a Kwami. And Kwamis were all a conceptualization of the universe. Little Death represented **_Obsession_**.

Little Death would be obsessed with things all her life. That was her nature. It was her essence.

The problem with her offspring was that she had inherited the power from both her parents. She possessed the powers of Death and the powers of Plagg, the god of destruction. This meant that she did not actually have her "own power" like most Kwamis. This meant that her daughter would probably not be accepted by the other Kwamis.

This made Little Death the ideal tool to get rid of both humans and gods.

Luckily, Zeus was too busy staring at women or dealing with the dramas of Olympus to be interested in what was really happening on earth. The Kwamis were now living in their own dimension of space and time. Death was one of the few gods who really had to take care of humans, while the other Kwamis lived in their magical world.

Death's dream?

**To be free.**

Death didn't want to take care of humans anymore; she didn't want to stay locked up in the Underworld for all eternity.

The Little Death's apparition had simply been a trigger for her.

Death had seen Little Death's birth as a sign of Fate. It was time for Death to put an end to the story that Life had begun several millennia ago.

In order for Death to be free, then the very concept of Life had to cease to exist. She would be the only thing that would exist in this world.

She is Chaos.

She is the End.

She is Death.

As she was immersed in her thoughts, one of her servants called out to her.

"Lady Death, Little Death went to save the hybrid."

Death began to laugh.

"Let her do it."

"My Lady, this is not in-"

"The natural order, yes I know. But don't you think the world is a lot more fun this way?"

Death laughed again. She was the end. Chaos was in her nature.

And if her daughter had stubbornly decided to fight against the established order, who was she to stop her?

**Little Death was only her precious tool after all.**

-XxxX-

Damian had just woken up. It was about five o'clock in the morning. He stretched and got out of bed quickly. When he was younger, he wasn't an early riser, even though he had to get up early. Now that he was an adult, he still hated getting up early, but his job didn't leave him much choice.

As he was about to take his shower and then quickly prepare breakfast, he heard a huge "BOOM" coming from the living room.

This woke him up immediately. Titus, who was sleeping near the foot of his bed, also woke up and immediately started barking.

Damian ran into his living room. There was a smoke like fog in the middle of his house. When the mist cleared, he recognized the ghostly shape of Marinette. She wasn't alone, there was someone with her.

"Father! Hurry! We must help him! He's dying!"

Damian came closer quickly. It was a young man. He was maybe 17 or 18 years old... His hair was black. The young man was covered with wounds and was bleeding heavily from his arm.

Damian quickly went to get the first aid kit.

"Is it going to become a habit to treat people on the floor of my house?"

Fortunately, the young man's injuries were not very serious. He put the young man on the couch in their living room, and finally turned to Marinette, waiting for an explanation.

"Angel, who is he?"

"A friend of mine."

"A friend of yours?"

"He's half ghost, like me. I met him when I was living with my host family."

"The family who vanished?"

"Yes, that's it."

"Hmm... what happened to him? How could you possibly have known something was happening to him? Why did you bring him here?"

"He was attacked. His family was killed. I knew this because... Because I left servants to look after him before I left... I was too late... I didn't think about it. I just... I didn't want him to die..."

Damian heard a sob.

To his greatest confusion, Marinette began to cry.

He had never seen her cry before.

Damian looked at the scene with a certain fascination, which was quickly replaced by a great panic.

He was not good at consoling people! He knew how to make them cry, not calm them down!

Where is Richard when you need him?!

He approached Marinette and started tapping her head awkwardly.

Was it good like that?

Marinette moved closer to him, and he found himself hugging his daughter. He patted her back gently. That's what Richard used to do to him when he was little and sad.

It seemed to work. Marinette calmed down.

He held back a sigh of relief. If she had continued to cry, he was already thinking about calling Jon, or Richard, or whoever was good with human empathy.

The days that followed were strange. The young man, whose name was Danny, was actually a 16-year-old teenager. He was completely devastated, which was absolutely normal. Overnight, he had lost his entire family. What worried Damian even more was Danny's description of his attackers.

Damian was certain that it was Deathstroke and Lady Shiva. They had teamed up with a group called H.I.V.E. (at least that's how they had introduced themselves to Danny).

Damian decided to inform his father. It was probably one of the strangest calls he had to make in his life. It was not in his nature to admit that he needed help.

However, over the past two years he had done many things that were originally against his "normal" character. If Marinette hadn't appeared in his life, he would never have gone back to the Waynes...

His father immediately asked him to come to Gotham. He would be safer within the walls of the Manor than anywhere else.

Damian hesitated for a long time. He finally agreed, on the condition that his stay at the Manor would be only temporary, to give him time to find a place he liked.

**Back to the Present.**

Danny couldn't sleep. He had no desire to have nightmares, so he turned into a ghost and went to take refuge on the roof of the house.

He was surprised to find Marinette on the roof, looking at the stars.

Danny joined her without saying a word. She noticed him but chose not to say anything either.

A pleasant silence settled in.

Finally, Danny's curiosity spoke louder. There was a question he had been dying to ask since he lived with Marinette and Damian.

"Marinette, can I ask you a question?"

"You can always try."

"Damian... Are you really the "daughter" of your "father"?"

Marinette continued to contemplate the sky in silence. When Danny thought that she wasn't going to answer him, he heard her voice.

"No, I'm not."

Danny's anxiety grew. He suspected it. He had this strange feeling that something was wrong. The young man had known Marinette when he was younger. She didn't behave the same way at all. Even her human appearance was a little different.

"Marinette... What did you do?"

"I'm just following my mommy's orders."

"Your mommy? You mean Raven?"

He remembered hearing Damian talking on the phone with that woman.

"No."

Danny's confusion only got worse. He chose not to push it, though.

"But I wish he was."

She looked at him sadly.

"I wish so much that Damian were my real daddy. I wish I were my father's daughter."

Danny didn't know what to say, so he chose to remain silent.

* * *

A/N :

Now you have all the cards in your hands to find out which story mirrors which story. Good luck

-You may have noticed, it always takes me more time to bring out Damian's story... The reason is simple: of the four stories, this one has the most complex scenario, with an extremely rich world.

It will be the only AU where there will be more than one crossover.

Danny will have a central role in the chapters to come. I originally wanted to introduce him at the beginning of the story. Danny should have appeared in Chapter 1, but I changed my mind at the last moment. First I needed Marinette and Damian to build a relationship, and then I had to introduce Danny.

You now know a little bit more about Marinette and what she stands for :D

I was really looking forward to writing this chapter, because now that you know who Marinette is, reread the previous chapters, you'll get a whole different picture of what's going on... I'll leave you to your theories! xD

\- A little explanation is in order:

Each Little Story revolves around the Miraculous but in a different form.

For the story with Dick, you'll see, it's a surprise ;)

For the story with Jason, the Miraculous works like in the canon. There are jewels called Miraculous and each jewel is associated with a Kwami.

For the story with Tim, although there are Miraculous in the form of Jewelry, there is an important variation. You will discover all this in the next chapters ;)

For Damian's story, "Miraculous" refers to the space in which the Kwamis, who are gods in humanoid form, live. Jewels do not exist. You will also discover what this implies and how the world of the Kwamis works through the chapters ;)


End file.
